Law Practice Management

Should you notify your malpractice carrier if you’re still running Windows XP?

February 27, 2014

Did that headline get your attention? I hope so. If you’re still running Windows XP after April 8, your answer should be “Yes.” After April 8, Microsoft will no longer support Windows XP. So if you’re running XP after the cut-off date and your computer crashes, you’re essentially out of luck. The end of support for XP also means that Microsoft will stop updating security patches for the program, and any computers running it will be vulnerable to hacker attacks, crashes and data breaches. Which means you could be facing a malpractice claim or ethics violation. According to the Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company’s Blog, if you’re still running Windows XP after April 8, “your system will no longer be HIPPA compliant and will be vulnerable to hacker attacks.”

In an article for the ABA Journal, John Simek, vice president of the law firm computer consulting firm Sensei Enterprises says:

 “Some states may consider an attorney’s continued use of XP to be a violation of their ethical duties and potentially subject to disciplinary action. In addition, there is probably some exclusion in their malpractice insurance policy if they continue to use an unsupported operating system.”

If your firm is still running Windows XP, don’t wait any longer. Now is the time to upgrade from XP to a new Windows operating system.

The ABA Journal article cited above provides a list of tools to help you make the transition. Click here to read more.

If you’re ready to get started, and you’re in need of specialized tech support for your firm, check out our our friends at Affinity Consulting Group.

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