Increased attacks on Windows XP:
Microsoft will end support for the Windows XP operating system on April 8, 2014. New vulnerabilities will no longer be patched and systems worldwide will no longer be protected against attacks. Fortinet assumes that more than 15 percent of medium-sized and large companies will still be running Windows XP on at least ten percent of their computers on this date. Hackers who are already in possession of a so-called 'zero-day exploit' (a computer program that the hacker develops on the same day that he discovers a vulnerability and can thus cause the greatest possible damage) will probably wait until April 8 to sell to the highest bidder, according to Fortinet. Due to their presumably high price, these so-called 'zero days' (days on which an attack is carried out via a zero-day exploit) will be used specifically against well-known companies and individuals.