Millions of Windows XP Machines are Not Secure, Is Yours?
Posted by aonenetworks On May 7, 2016
Windows XP was, by any measure, the most successful and ubiquitous operating system of all time. To this day, now two years after Microsoft formally ended support for the platform, there are still tens of millions of computers running XP. Fully, this is approximately 10.9% of the PCs on the planet.
That’s dangerous, and if your company is one of the holdouts, you have to know that it’s just a matter of time before someone in the hacking community finds and targets you. Absent ongoing updates and security patches, there’s no viable defense against it. When the day comes, you’re going to lose data. It’s inevitable, sans upgrade.
Of course, the reasons for not upgrading are many and varied. Mostly, it comes down to some variant of the fact that some companies are using legacy software that only runs on XP. An attempt to migrate it to Windows 10 would break the software. If the original vendor is no longer in business, and/or if the source code has been lost, or there’s no one around anymore who understands it, there might not be a clear path to upgrading.
All of that is true, but every day that passes, your company is at ever greater risk. Time needs to be taken to find a path to an upgrade. An alternative to the old legacy software needs to be implemented so you can move your company’s data into safer waters.
If a plan is not drawn up to do so, then the decision will ultimately be taken from you on the day that the hackers descend on your vulnerable system and use it as the way into your network. By then, of course, it will be too late, and although this will be the event that finally prompts an upgrade and migration, the cost of delaying could be astronomical.
If you haven’t already done so, start making plans immediately. The clock is ticking. If you’re unsure how to proceed, contact us, and let us help you! A member of our team can assess your current situation and help you develop a clear plan that gets you and your data in safer, more secure waters.
