Microsoft will stop providing security updates and support for Windows 7 on Jan. 14, 2020. On that date, anyone at the university still running the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system will fall out of compliance with the U’s Information Security Policy 4-004.
The Information Security Office (ISO) in University Information Technology strongly urges users to upgrade to Windows 10 as soon as possible. The Office of Software Licensing maintains various licenses for Windows 10 (authentication required) for university- and department-owned computers.
More information:
- Windows 10 specs and requirements
- Lifecycle fact sheet for Windows 7, 8.1, 10
- Information about Server 2008 and 2008 R2 (support also ends on 1/14/20)
- Contact your local IT support staff
- UIT Help Desk 801-581-4000, option 1
- ITS Service Desk 801-587-6000
If you believe mitigating circumstances require you to keep using Windows 7 after Jan. 14, 2020, such as specialized instrumentation or hardware configurations critical to a research project, you may apply for a policy exception. Email ISO’s Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) team at iso-grc@utah.edu and include a brief statement that justifies the exception. The GRC team will walk you through the process.
Per Policy 4-004, the cost to remediate non-compliant systems and processes must far exceed the risks of non-compliance, and must have an expiration date no later than one year from the approval date. Prior to expiring, the exception will be reevaluated “based on emerging threats and business justifications.”