Department of Homeland Security issues alert about end of Windows Server 2003 support

US-CERT, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has released an alert reminding people about the impending end of extended support for Windows Server 2003. This is a reminder that end of support isn’t an abstract concern only of interest to a small section of the systems administration community, but is an issue that is registering concern at the highest levels of government.

As the alert says

Computer systems running unsupported software are exposed to an elevated risk to cybersecurity dangers, such as malicious attacks or electronic data loss.

Users may also encounter problems with software and hardware compatibility since new software applications and hardware devices may not be built for Windows Server 2003.

Organizations that are governed by regulatory obligations may find they are no longer able to satisfy compliance requirements while running Windows Server 2003.

These are already issues that we’ve gone over in this series of blog posts, but if you’re having trouble convincing decision makers at your organization about the need to do something about the end of support for Windows Server 2003, perhaps pointing out to them that it is considered a critical issue by the Department of Homeland Security might get them to reevaluate the priority of taking action.

You can find the text of the alert here: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA14-310A