End of life hardware often presents businesses with an attack surface they are not prepared to monitor and handle should a malicious actor take advantage of unsupported hardware that supports the business’ network. Even small businesses will overlook how old their routers, switches, and other devices have become after years of business operations because these pieces of hardware do not require frequent attention and easily become taken for granted. Small and medium businesses should take into consideration the lifespan of their hardware so that they don’t become attack vectors for hackers in the future, and here are a few key reasons you should be keeping track of your hardware’s lifespan!
Preventing Cyberattacks
The number one reason to know when your business’ hardware reaches end of life is to help prevent cyberattacks. End of life hardware is no longer supported with security patches, which means that if a vulnerability is found in a device after its end of life, it will never be fixed. Malicious actors that find outdated hardware on your network will use this fact to easily launch an attack against your system, and there is often little your IT department or IT consultant can do to stop this. Other cybersecurity solutions can help mitigate the attack once it happens, but only replacing the end-of-life hardware will remove the threat entirely.
Improving SMB Security Posture
By replacing end of life hardware, your small business can reduce its attack surface for hackers, but with vigilant device monitoring and a little bit of planning, you can prevent this threat from ever appearing. Every SMB should keep track of its hardware and important information, such as when the manufacturer declares that a device will no longer be supported. By making it a habit to monitor every device’s health and news about when it will no longer be supported, a small business can make transitioning away from outdated hardware a smooth process and prevent the need for stop-gap fixes that could cause network downtimes are weaken your cybersecurity posture.
Long-Term Planning Benefits
With a reliable plan for when to replace hardware that is reaching its end of life, SMBs are able to strategize which new pieces of hardware will take over the outdated one’s function and provide additional benefits to the business. Knowing when hardware procurement must take place also allows your business to work with its IT department or IT consultant to identify new products that function well with its current infrastructure and possibly provide new services or resources that were not available with older technologies. Having a long-term planning strategy for hardware replacement will additionally let the business explore procurement opportunities and take advantage of the best pricing options available.
Summary
End of life hardware replacement doesn’t have to take your small business by surprise. When you choose to monitor the lifespan of your hardware and get the right advice from a reliable IT consultant, your small business can position itself to improve its network capabilities while optimizing its security against hackers. Our team of security experts here at Robinett Consulting want to help SMBs avoid surprise cybersecurity incidents, and that’s why we want to partner with your business today to assess your cybersecurity infrastructure and provide the advice you need to replace your end of life hardware with the technology that meets both your needs and budget!
