Cybersecurity Briefing — June 30, 2025

Executive briefing: Microsoft retires Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. Organisations that keep Windows 10 in production after that date lose monthly security updates unless they purchase the paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) programme. Zeph Tech distils the migration plan—covering hardware readiness, Intune deployment waves, and ESU budgeting—so CISOs can show regulators and boards that Windows 11 transitions are on track.

Key industry signals

Fixed retirement date. Microsoft’s Windows lifecycle fact sheet confirms support for Windows 10, version 22H2—the final release—ends on 14 October 2025.
ESU availability. Microsoft announced a three-year Windows 10 ESU programme in 2023, available to commercial customers via cloud management (Intune, Windows Autopatch) or volume licensing starting with coverage year 2025–2026.
Hardware requirements. Windows 11 still requires TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and supported CPUs; Microsoft’s documentation urges organisations to use the PC Health Check API and Update Compliance reports to segment upgrade-ready hardware.

Control alignment

NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 SI-2 / CM-8. Maintain authoritative inventories that show each endpoint’s OS version, upgrade plan, and ESU coverage decisions.
ISO/IEC 27001 Annex A.8.7 / A.5.34. Demonstrate secure system acquisition and lifecycle management by documenting Windows 11 build standards and hardening baselines.
PCI DSS 4.0 Req. 6.3.3. Ensure cardholder data environments do not rely on unsupported operating systems after October 2025 or record compensating controls tied to ESU subscriptions.

Detection and response priorities

Correlate endpoint telemetry (Defender for Endpoint, SCCM/Intune) with vulnerability scanners to flag any Windows 10 hosts still outside migration waves.
Build alerts for unpatched legacy endpoints by monitoring SecurityUpdateCompliance and QualityUpdateCompliance signals in Update Compliance.
Capture incident response playbooks that differentiate between ESU-covered devices and fully upgraded fleets for post-October investigations.

Enablement moves

Publish executive dashboards that chart migration velocity by business unit, device criticality, and regulatory exposure.
Coordinate with procurement to source Windows 11-capable hardware, including TPM 2.0 modules, before seasonal supply crunches.
Train service desks and field engineers on Autopilot, in-place upgrade rollback, and user communications to minimise disruption.

Sources

Zeph Tech equips cybersecurity and IT operations teams with evidence-backed plans so Windows lifecycle transitions satisfy regulators, auditors, and business stakeholders.