Like every year for technology, 2019 will continue to see changes. Not just because 2019 is anything special, but because it’s also right before 2020. We see trends continuing that large software companies are forcing smaller companies into a cloud-based model (think Amazon and Microsoft), web applications that are hosted in the cloud are the targets of cyber criminals, and some major technology will end its last full year of support and needs to be migrated. The last item is especially of note, because it will cost businesses thousands of dollars to mitigate this risk, so start planning now. We’ll look at the last item first, then trends, and the risks associated.
Costly Replacements Coming
In January 2020, Microsoft will be ending support for all Windows 7 and Server 2008 (SP1 & SP2) operating systems as well as exchange 2010. These will no longer receive security patches or updates.
What does this mean for you? Any of these systems will pose a serious vulnerability to you and your business. For any Windows 7 machine you have, you either need to replace, upgrade, isolate or trash the computer. Below is a breakdown of the costs you should expect.
Costs per computer:
• Upgrade to Windows 10: $200 license + 1 hour of tech labor.
• Replace: $1,000 per computer (varies greatly), plus setup time.
• Isolate: Disable internet access, 1 hour or so of setup time. This option may render the computer useless for modern workers.
• Trash: Wipe the hard drive and recycle the computer, about 30 minutes per computer.
If you are running a Server 2008 or Exchange 2010 server, you will need to migrate to an up-to-date operating system. For exchange 2010, you should migrate to GSuite or O365 for your email. Server 2008 you should migrate to Server 2016. Below is a breakdown of costs to expect.
Costs per server:
• Server 2008
— New hardware (if needed): $5,000-$10,000.
— New server license: $750.
— Labor to migrate: Plan on about 10-20 hours per server.
— Software changes: Many software providers you have on your 2008 Server will also need to be upgraded, this can be extremely costly if you purchased perpetual licenses.
• Exchange 2010
— Email Licenses from O365/GSuite: $5-$15/user per month.
— Labor to Migrate: Plan on about 30 minutes to one hour per email you are migrating.
Trends: Cloud Cloud Cloud…
In 2019 we will see the continued trend of large companies moving to a cloud-based and recurring revenue model. Every major player is offering some kind of complete cloud-based system (Amazon, Google, Microsoft) and these will continue to get better and better as they develop, and having each of them compete with each other will help to bring the costs of these services down.
However, moving to these models requires excellent internet speed and you will likely want to have redundant internet service providers to keep your business afloat when there is an outage. Upspeed is the biggest factor in these services working well, so plan on a symmetrical system (Fiber) of at least 30/30 for an office of ten, or 100/100 for an office of 30. (If you do go with redundant internet, make sure it is from two different companies with two different backbones. Some companies are just reselling other companies’ service, so if you buy two options from the same company, or two companies that are resellers of the same backbone, you won’t have redundancy, just a higher cost that makes you feel better until the first real outage happens.)
Cyber Risks: Web Applications
As companies are moving toward cloud-hosted applications and infrastructure, cyber criminals are taking note and targeting these web-based applications too. So what can you do to protect yourself?
1) Enforce strong passwords for every application, web based or local.
a. Consider using a company-wide password manager, like LastPass.com.
2) Enforce two-factor authentication with every application (if available).
3) Enable gateway-antivirus on your firewall.
4) Uninstall software you don’t need any more.
5) Have anti-virus software that’s updated on every computer.
a. If you are a home user or very small office, just use the free built-in windows defender, it does a great job.
Summary
2019 is going to be an expensive year for companies with lots of old equipment, more and more we will be using cloud-based services on a monthly recurring revenue cycle, and the cyber risks will be targeted at those same cloud-based services.
Additional helpful references
• Password Managers:
— lastpass.com (My Personal Favorite), keepersecurity.com, dashlane.com
• Security Status: Sonicwall 2018 Threat Assessment
— sonicwall.com/en-us/resources/white-papers/2018-sonicwall-cyber-threat-report
• Windows Operating Systems End of Life
— support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet
— support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search?alpha=Exchange%202010
— support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/search?alpha=Server%202008
