Huan Qiu Wang·2025-11-06 03:14Core Points - The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) plans to invest £312 million to modernize its IT systems, including upgrading 31,500 laptops from Windows 7 to Windows 10 [1][2] - This decision is a response to a public budget report from May 2023, which recommended improving departmental efficiency through IT system updates [2] - The modernization project is part of the 2022-2025 spending cycle and includes addressing over 49,000 serious vulnerabilities, migrating 137 legacy applications, and shutting down outdated data centers [2] - Defra claims that the IT modernization will enhance operational reliability for critical infrastructure such as flood control and border management, while also reducing cybersecurity risks [2] - The choice to deploy Windows 10, despite Microsoft's termination of official support, has raised concerns about the justification of the £312 million expenditure on an outdated system [2]