The government has called on Microsoft to offer a “special discount” to its users in India so they can move to the latest operating system (OS) and stay protected from malware and ransomware attacks.
“We have asked Microsoft to offer a special one-time price so people can replace their old operating system with the latest operating system (Windows 10),” national cybersecurity adviser Gulshan Rai told PTI.
Microsoft’s response has been positive and they have agreed in principle, he added.
While the pricing discount is still being discussed, the government wants it to be Rs 1,000 or lower, Rai said adding that the idea is to ensure that people can improve their systems in the wake of ransomware attacks.
Microsoft did not respond to email inquiries.
Windows 10 Home is currently available for about Rs 8,000, while the Professional version costs about Rs 13,000. Millions of computers in India operate on the Windows operating system. However, only a small part of this is powered by the latest Windows 10 operating system.
Piracy is also rampant in the country, making users vulnerable to cyber attacks as they do not receive security patches in India.
Earlier this week, “Petya” ramsomware reached one of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) terminals and partially affected the operations of privately owned APM Terminals Pipavav.
In May, another WannaCry ransomware system had affected systems in more than 100 countries, including India. Once infected by ransomware, the systems are locked and a rescue – usually in cryptography like Bitcoins – is requested to retrieve the files. However, it is not clear if the systems are decoded after payment.
