Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, has warned Nigerians to desist from transmitting sensitive data on the Internet with devices powered by Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System.

In a statement signed by Mukhtar Sadiq, Technical Assistant on Government Digital Services and Innovation, Pantami urged Nigerians to use the latest operating system available when transmitting sensitive data.

The development followed the end of support for the Windows 7 Operating System by Microsoft on January 14.

Parts of the statement read,

“With the official End of Support (EoS) of the Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System (OS) which came into effect on 14th January 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide technical support and security or software updates for the platform.

“Systems running on Windows 7 OS will continue to work, however, they will be progressively more vulnerable to viruses and malware.

“In light of this, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr Isa Pantami, is alerting the general public on the risks of using Windows 7 powered devices for internet-based services that require the use of sensitive information such as internet banking.

“The best way to remain secure is to use the latest Operating Systems available.”

The minister also advised individuals using devices powered by Windows 7 to implement some precautionary measures to protect themselves from breach of privacy and loss of critical data.

According to the minister, the measures include keeping security software up to date; keeping all other applications up to date; and being more sceptical on downloads and emails accessed.

The statement added,

“The minister in his efforts to propagate the importance of cybersecurity and to ensure that cyber threats are quickly identified and contained, will from time to time alert the general public on important event and measures to ensure that people can feel safe online.”