US-Cert Alert Warns Of Risks After Windows Server 2003 EOS

By Ally Kutz, contributing writer

US-Cert, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has issued an alert warning Microsoft Windows Server 2003 users of the end of support for the OS on July 14, 2015. For users that do not upgrade, this means high risk.

According to the alert, any computers running on the software after July 14th will be vulnerable to cybersecurity dangers, including data loss as well as attacks on their systems. They are also at risk for problems with software compatibility, as new software and devices will most likely not be built for Windows 2003.

Lack of update from Windows 2003 can also lead to issues with compliance requirements, as the older system may no longer meat regulatory obligations.

Lee Kirkby, writer for Leppert Office Document Strategies, suggests that the first step in planning for a server upgrade is checking the applications running on the 2003 server. He states, “You may have some or many [applications] that are going to need upgrading as well since the versions built for the 2003 time frame may not be supported in newer server environments like Windows Server 2008R2 or Windows Server 2012.”

In order for your clients to make the right decisions in regards to their system updates, they will likely need your guidance to know which applications need to be updated and which do not.

Kirkby also strongly suggests talking with you clients about the cloud. “As soon as you start looking at your potions for your replacement server system you are going to be confronted with proposals for placing your servers in the cloud or of renting the whole environment through a cloud provider. Don’t kid yourself by simply discounting these possibilities since the arguments made for them as a solution are very compelling and you are going to find yourself thinking about it at least as an option for consideration,” he says.