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Tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers are hopelessly outdated and therefore vulnerable to hackers. The majority of the facilities are located in Europe. Tens of thousands of
Tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers are hopelessly outdated and therefore vulnerable to hackers. The majority of the facilities are located in Europe.
Tens of thousands of publicly accessible email servers are running old versions of Microsoft Exchange that are no longer supported. Most systems are therefore vulnerable to attacks. More than half of legacy Exchange instances run in Europe. The numbers come from the Shadowserver Foundation, a nonprofit organization that aims to make the Internet as safe as possible.
In total, the organization sees 19,706 vulnerable servers worldwide. There are 10,047 dated Exchange mail servers in Europe. The US comes in second with 6,001 servers, which is significantly less. This shows that European organizations are significantly worse at implementing updates. A more fragmented corporate landscape with a greater focus on SMEs could play a role in this.
The majority of the outdated systems run on Exchange Server 2013. Microsoft ended support for this in April of this year, meaning that users no longer receive security updates. Older versions of the mail server are also still in circulation.
Additionally, not all legacy installations run the latest available version of Exchange software. Systems are very vulnerable to Proxylogon, among other things. In practice, it is very dangerous not to update Microsoft Exchange servers even though they are accessible via the Internet.
On-premises Exchange has proven time and time again to be a popular vector for criminals to break into corporate infrastructure via email. A cracked mail server is a perfect springboard for more complex attacks in which attackers can gain control of the entire IT infrastructure – with all the consequences that entails.
So update is the message. Companies that now find that they are still using an old version and cannot update immediately need to ask themselves whether they have the necessary IT knowledge internally to secure their email systems. If that’s not the case, you may be wondering if a local version of your email traffic is the best option. A Microsoft-managed migration to Exchange Online can solve many security issues in such a case.
Source: IT Daily
As an experienced journalist and author, Mary has been reporting on the latest news and trends for over 5 years. With a passion for uncovering the stories behind the headlines, Mary has earned a reputation as a trusted voice in the world of journalism. Her writing style is insightful, engaging and thought-provoking, as she takes a deep dive into the most pressing issues of our time.
