Windows 10 end-of-Life Sparks Economic & Environmental Concerns
PARIS – The impending end of support for Windows 10 is triggering ample costs for public and private organizations while simultaneously raising alarms about a looming wave of electronic waste, according to reports. Organizations are facing significant expenses to maintain security through extended update subscriptions or to migrate to new systems.
Public service companies are already allocating substantial funds; one is reportedly paying Microsoft 2.5 million euros for a one-year extension of updates for 48,000 positions. Larger-scale upgrades are estimated to cost as much as 15 million euros. These expenditures are driven by the critical need to avoid security vulnerabilities, highlighted by recent cyberattacks targeting institutions like the University of Rennes and hospitals in Normandy and Hauts-de-France.
“If someone gets hacked, the flaw can be reassembled to all internal positions,” warns Corinne Henin, emphasizing the systemic risk. Antoine Guillou adds, “We must be aware that we are manipulating data on users, their income, their family, their address, their uses… For these reasons, we know that we are targets for pirates.”
Microsoft justifies the transition as a natural and essential cycle, stating it allows users to “benefit from the latest advances in security, performance or innovation,” according to executive vice-president Yusuf Mehdi.
However, the upgrade cycle carries a heavy environmental price.The US consumer association Pirg estimates the end of Windows 10 could generate 725,000 tonnes of electronic waste. Given that 90% of a laptop’s carbon footprint is created during manufacturing – requiring energy and water-intensive mineral extraction that causes “lasting ecological damage” – the replacement of obsolete computers is a major concern.
The HOP association calculates the material extraction needed for replacement computers equates to 32,000 Eiffel Towers worth of raw materials and will generate over 70 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.
