{"685920":{"#nid":"685920","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Microsoft Removing Support for Windows 10 Could Increase E-Waste, Cybersecurity Threats","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Microsoft announced it was\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/windows-10-support-has-ended-on-october-14-2025-2ca8b313-1946-43d3-b55c-2b95b107f281\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E ending support for Windows 10 last week\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, about 40 percent of all Windows users faced limited options.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile some of those users can upgrade to Windows 11, hundreds of millions of devices don\u2019t meet the technical requirements.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose users might be wondering what else they can do besides throwing away their current device and buying a new one or risking running outdated software on it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe tech conglomerate faced backlash from environmental and cybersecurity experts after informing Windows users that it would cease providing updates for Windows 10.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese experts have warned that rendering hundreds of millions of devices practically useless will worsen the ever-growing problem with electronic waste (e-waste) and leave users who can\u0027t upgrade vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers from Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing (SIC) and School of Cybersecurity and Privacy (SCP) echo those concerns.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EForcing users to replace their devices means that\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.itpro.com\/software\/windows\/windows-10-end-of-life-could-prompt-torrent-of-e-waste-as-240-million-devices-set-for-scrapheap\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Eup to 240 million old devices, according to one analysis\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, will inevitably end up in landfills.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe problem of e-waste raises the question of why and how these technologies become obsolete,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lincindy.com\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECindy Lin\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, a Stephen Fleming Early Career Assistant Professor in SIC.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELin studies data structures and environmental governance in Southeast Asia and the U.S.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cScholarship in human-computer interaction (HCI) on repair reveals that many of these technologies suffer from planned obsolescence,\u201d she said. \u201cThis means that companies have designed products with a short lifespan, increasing consumption and waste simultaneously.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen e-waste is dumped in landfills, the organic materials within devices decompose, producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. And with every discarded device comes the need to produce new ones. The raw materials of these devices are mined, refined, and processed, consuming enormous amounts of energy through the burning of fossil fuels.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Problem With Hackers\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough Microsoft said it will continue to provide Windows 10 security updates for one year, users are still being pressured to upgrade. By this time next year, if users still haven\u2019t upgraded to Windows 11, they can expect to become easy targets for cyber criminals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, users could receive phishing emails claiming to be from Microsoft about security updates from hackers pretending to be Microsoft.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe cybersecurity implications are very serious because new vulnerabilities of Windows 10 will go unpatched for a large part of the user base of this system,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/people\/mustaque-ahamad\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMustaque Ahamad\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Regents\u2019 Entrepreneur Professor and interim chair of SCP.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese users will become targets of hackers and cyber criminals who will be able to exploit these vulnerabilities. This will make these machines more prone to attacks such as ransomware and data exfiltration.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat Can Users Do?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBuying a new device typically costs around $300 at the low end, while some gaming computers can exceed $2,500.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/josiahhester.com\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJosiah Hester\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the School of IC who researches computing and sustainability, said users who want to avoid discarding their devices can install Linux Mint, a free universal operating system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI would hope that instead of discarding, people might see this as an opportunity to go into a more open ecosystem like Linux Mint, which was designed for Windows users,\u201d Hester said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSo much perfectly good hardware is obsolesced by force, when users are more than willing to give it a second life, either through ending support on the software side, subscription services that require certain versions of an OS, or even building the hardware or low-level functions that reduce the autonomy of device owners.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELinux Mint is open source and offers its own suite of software products, including a word processor. It also has a built-in security system. It requires 2GB of RAM, 20GB of disk space, and 1024x768 resolution to operate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn a systemic level, Lin and Hester said people can support organizations that advocate for right to repair and legislation that protects consumers from planned obsolescence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHCI studies of informal economies of improvisation and repair have demonstrated that technologies have a longer lifecycle if we have access to expertise on how to repair them without facing penalties such as copyright violations,\u201d Lin said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe ongoing right-to-repair movement in the US shows promise in making technology repairable and, in turn, more sustainable.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMicrosoft\u0027s decision to end support for Windows 10 will leave hundreds of millions of devices unable to meet the requirements for upgrading to Windows 11. Experts in Georgia Tech\u0027s College of Computing warn this policy will heavily contribute to the e-waste crisis and expose users to cybersecurity threats from unpatched vulnerabilities.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Microsoft\u0027s decision to end support for Windows 10 could lead to a massive increase in e-waste and expose users who can\u0027t upgrade to greater cybersecurity threats"}],"uid":"36530","created_gmt":"2025-10-22 16:16:36","changed_gmt":"2025-10-22 18:24:13","author":"Nathan Deen","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-10-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678421":{"id":"678421","type":"image","title":"ChatGPT-Image-Oct-21--2025--02_44_30-PM.png","body":null,"created":"1761149813","gmt_created":"2025-10-22 16:16:53","changed":"1761149813","gmt_changed":"2025-10-22 16:16:53","alt":"Windows device with a landfill in background","file":{"fid":"262444","name":"ChatGPT-Image-Oct-21--2025--02_44_30-PM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/10\/22\/ChatGPT-Image-Oct-21--2025--02_44_30-PM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/10\/22\/ChatGPT-Image-Oct-21--2025--02_44_30-PM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":830520,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/10\/22\/ChatGPT-Image-Oct-21--2025--02_44_30-PM.png?itok=etchtugo"}}},"media_ids":["678421"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"335","name":"Microsoft"},{"id":"173448","name":"windows10"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"9153","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"114261","name":"landfill"},{"id":"10647","name":"e-waste"},{"id":"1404","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"181815","name":"Hackers"},{"id":"8111","name":"phishing"},{"id":"831","name":"climate change"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"145171","name":"Cybersecurity"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ndeen6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ENathan Deen\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECollege of Computing\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}