Weakest link the in Security Chain – Windows XP?

There are many candidates for this prestigious post but one of the most deserving is Windows XP. When XP and Windows 8 are hit with the same number of malwares, the infection rate of XP is much higher than that of WIndows 8 – maybe even 5-6 times higher.

 
The fact that Windows 7 and Windows 8 are both much more secure than XP makes it that much more of an interesting target for hackers with a malicious intent. Many companies are loathe to change the status quo – it’s working so let’s not bother to do any modifications to the set up. Additionally, the cost factor comes into play when making such upgradations. Even a few machines left running on XP present a significant threat to the organization. What organizations need to understand is that the cost of recovering from a security breach arising out of the presence of an XP machine may be far higher than the implementation of newer operating systems. Also, the damage to your organization’s brand can be harder to recover from.
 
XP runs on various kinds of devices and it is important to run scans to identify the location of such devices and build suitable walls around them to protect them before they become the gateway to a network hack. Nmap, GFI Languard and other similar tools provide the information needed. The presence of XP devices inside the network will also have to be adequately reflected in the organization’s risk management exercise.
 
It is worth noting that support for XP ends in April 2014 — not even 2 months away.
 
The end of support means that users will no longer receive critical security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates; which will leave their machines even more open to attackers.
 
While on the topic of the weakest links, here are some of the other popular candidates
Humans
Passwords
Mobility

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