Vladimir Putin’s computer is still running Windows XP and ‘hasn’t been updated in five years’, pictures show

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been photographed using a pretty surprising piece of tech for a country constantly accused of cybercrime.

Russia is often being accused of hacking but recent reports suggest the country is falling a little bit behind with some of its tech.

That’s because Russian website Open Media spotted that President Vladimir Putin’s computers in his Kremlin office and residence are running Windows XP and there are photos to prove it.

Windows XP is a now obsolete software system that was released back in 2001.

It’s so outdated that Microsoft stopped releasing updates for it five years ago.

It's possible Putin hasn't updated his computer for security reasons. Picture: Kremlin.ru

However, photographs of Mr Putin in his office show that he was using the software fairly recently.

The Russian President probably hasn’t updated because he is wary of tech in general as he previously called the internet a CIA project.

However, not updating your software can also leave you vulnerable.

Photos of the Russian President in his office show him using the outdated operating system recently. Picture: Kremlin.ru

Tom Murphy, then-director of communications for Windows at Microsoft, told CNET in 2014: “Windows XP was launched in 2001, which meant the design and engineering of it took place in the late ’90s into 2000, which was a very different world when we think about the profiles of the malware and the profiles of the hackers and bad people attacking PCs on the internet.

“It was a much simpler time.”

Open Media revealed that Windows XP was the last Microsoft system to be approved for official Russian government computers.

People with computers that don’t hold state secrets can use Windows 10.

The Russian Government still uses Windows XP. Picture: Kremlin.ru

Russia is taking steps to move away from the global internet and create its own national network.

The country plans to replace Microsoft and Apple software with its own domestic systems by 2025-2030.

Putin also signed a law this month stating that all smartphones, TVs and computers sold in the country should come with Russian software pre-installed.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission