XP came onto the scene on October 25, 2001. Now, 13 years later, we are faced with the
end of Microsoft’s support of this operating system. This has left many questions for users and
how dangerous it is for them to continue using XP. Will this become a field day for hackers?
From the perspective of small to medium sized businesses,
the end of XP support can be a big issue weighing heavily on the minds of
executives. Customized applications
being used by smaller businesses can result in many difficulties in upgrading
your operating system. Some
organizations are using XP machines for specialized tasks running these
customized applications. Compatibility
issues must be addressed, changes put in place, and data security ensured.
There is a belief that hackers, criminals, and foreign
intelligence will unleash a flood of attacks on XP machines now that support
has ended. And, because the support has
ended, these machines are not secured against these threats. Exploit packages could be developed using
patches and updates released by Microsoft for Windows 7 weaknesses. Identifying these weaknesses that are being
patched on Windows 7 gives attackers an opening in the unsupported XP
environment.
Actions?
Upgrade to Windows 7 and Windows 8. Upgrade servers and Office programs. Security projects must be undertaken to
protect your information assets. The big
issue with upgrading is specialized software being run on XP machines and
during an upgrade, these specialized software applications no longer have
support or security. Due to this
complication, many companies are faced with the potential need to upgrade their
entire infrastructure.
Opportunities?
Security vendors offering support for 3rd party
applications. Make sure that anti-virus
and anti-malware software is kept up to date and running. Using these software options help protect a
system after there is no longer operating system support.
One concern regarding the move from XP, is that more of
North America’s critical infrastructure runs on Windows XP. Bank machines are a major concern. If these machines are online, they are being
attacked. An offline machine is better
protected, but still at risk.
What to do?
Take the XP machines off the internet. This helps to secure the machine by
obscurity. Firewall the Windows XP
environments. This adds a layer of
protection and layered protection helps better secure information. Additionally, seeking out 3rd
party patches, anti-virus, and environmental lockdown are helps. And, of course, upgrade to Windows 7 or
8.
