THE government’s newly-appointed chief information officer has dismissed an official Microsoft warning that government computers may soon be vulnerable to hacking attacks and a deluge of computer viruses.

Bill McCluggage, who has been given responsibility for government computer strategy, said that the software giant’s warning -- that it will switch off security support for an estimated 40pc of government computers using Windows XP next April -- may not come to pass.

Microsoft has warned that computers still using the 12-year-old Windows XP operating system after next April will be subject to “significant” risks of hacking and computer viruses.

“You’d have to ask whether Microsoft really will turn off their support,” said Mr McCluggage. “There are organisations larger than us [in government] that won’t be fully switched over by then. So the question is whether they mean what they say.”

But Microsoft has said it is sticking by its deadline.

“I can categorically rule out that we will extend that deadline,” said Patrick Ward, a senior manager for Microsoft Ireland.

Online Editors