Organizations should prioritize getting rid of end-of-support (EOS) software. To assist in that effort, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) has released an EOS software report list.
As readers are aware, software that has passed its EOS or end-of-life date will no longer receive security patches and bug updates. As a consequence, unpatched software is prone to vulnerabilities and can be exploited by hackers. In addition, end-of-life software may cause stability, performance and productivity issues for organizations.
The comprehensive EOS list for October 2019 includes many of the major software vendors, such as Microsoft, Adobe, Atlassian, IBM, Oracle, RedHat and many other products.
One of the most widely published software products are Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2 products.
“After 10 years, support for Windows 7 is coming to an end on January 14, 2020,” Microsoft said in the announcement. The company encouraged users to upgrade to Windows 10 as soon as possible.
Similarly, Windows Server 2008 and R2 2008, as well as Exchange 2010, also reaches end-of-support on January 14, 2020. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 has already passed its EOS date this past July 9, 2019.
In addition, other notable Microsoft products reaching EOS next year include Sharepoint 2010 and Office 2010 on October 13, 2020.
Also on the list is Python 2.x, which reaches EOS on January 1, 2020. Back in August this year, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned it was time to upgrade to Python 3, if you’re still using 2.x. Organizations can reduce risk of older dependencies and also take advantage of new features with Python 3.
Readers can also check out the list for the many other products that have already passed or soon to reach vendor end of support.