Compliance & Risks
Supporting legacy platforms at no extra cost
Managing cyber-risk across multiple IT environments can be a major challenge.
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by Laura Todd
Managing cyber-risk across multiple IT environments can be a major challenge. Without the right protection, legacy software in particular can become more exposed to threats. Yet tight budgets leave little wriggle room for IT security decision makers. So what happens if your incumbent security supplier decides to start charging extra to support these end-of-life platforms? Do you downgrade to a cheaper tool offering less protection? Or even consider refreshing the entire endpoint estate to a new operating system?
Fortunately, with Trend Micro, CISOs must make no such trade-offs. Unlike some providers, you get industry leading protection for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows SBS 2011 at no extra cost.
The price of legacy
Legacy is the price we pay for continuous technology innovation. Yet when an operationally critical platform like Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows SBS 2011 reaches the end of vendor support, the stakes are raised significantly. It’s one thing not to receive official patches from the Microsoft, but what happens when your security provider also withdraws support, or unveils a new pricing structure?
Upgrading the OS version is often not possible due to financial and operational constraints. Even if the budget is there, backwards compatibility with mission critical legacy apps and devices may force organisations to stick with the status quo. For a hospital, forced upgrades could mean being without essential MRI or X-ray services for an extended period, for example. Yet these same systems must have adequate protection, especially if vendor patches are no longer available.
The Trend Micro difference
The good news is that Trend Micro offers full support for Windows 2008, as well as Windows 2003 and Windows 7 without requiring an extended support contract. We deliver both on-premises and SaaS capabilities from our Trend Micro Cloud One – Workload Security and Trend Micro Deep Security offerings. Trend Micro continues to offer the most extensive support for legacy servers and endpoints, with new functionality available as standard to customers of these systems.
Specifically, Trend Micro offers:
- A single, lightweight agent that won’t slow your business down
- Protection for hybrid cloud, physical environments and containers from a single console
- Close integration with all major cloud platforms
- Easy procurement through AWS and Azure marketplaces
- Security for DevOps
- Cross-generation threat protection including IPS, machine learning, app control etc
- Virtual patching to protect vulnerable systems from known and unknown threats—even if vendor patches are no longer available
- Threat protection powered by leading global research and the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI)
We’re particularly proud of our ZDI. It’s the world’s leading vulnerability disclosure ecosystem, accounting for over 60% of global vulnerabilities responsibly disclosed in 2020—over three times more than the second-placed vendor. Trend Micro customers benefit by getting early access to this vulnerability intelligence to receive protection sometimes weeks before vendor patches are available.
Combined with our virtual patching capabilities, it ensures that your legacy endpoints are always available and protected, no matter what threats are on the horizon.