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In the rapidly evolving world of business technology, where new innovations and cutting-edge services are constantly vying for our attention, it can be easy to forget that “legacy applications” constitute over 30% of the workplace tech we interact with. Structurally embedded in the fabric of many organisations, these software programmes are often listed among the top three causes of data breaches, with security architecture that isn’t cut out for the profusion of sophisticated cyber threats we face today.
What is a “Legacy Application?”
A legacy application (or legacy system/software) is a broad term used to label any software programme that is past its prime. Such a system may no longer be supported by its original manufacturer, often requiring expensive and arduous technical maintenance to ensure continued functionality. Often these programmes are so deeply entrenched in the processes of an organisation that introducing a replacement seems like an insurmountable logistical challenge, and as a result business leaders are often hesitant to embrace modernisation.
While these systems still perform an operational role in many settings, their deficiencies are starting to become all too apparent, particularly where data security is concerned. So what makes legacy applications inherently insecure? In this article we’ll try to answer that question, and explain how your legacy applications could be putting your data in danger.
Many legacy systems trace their roots back to the 70s, 80s and 90s, when cyber security was far less of a priority for software manufacturers. Software development cultures which prioritised speed of delivery over code robustness, would see software released to market with substantial flaws. Code flaws were often deferred, and many would go unresolved, leaving many deficiencies and vulnerabilities which remain uncorrected to this day. This leaves many legacy systems riddled with security defects, ripe for exploitation by the cyber criminal community.
Compounding concerns
While manufacturer-supported software should (in theory) become more secure over time, the opposite is often true for unsupported legacy systems, with security vulnerabilities often accruing as time passes. With updates, alterations and reconfigurations performed over many years, often by different teams, it can be hard to maintain a paper trail and keep track of the finer details of a legacy system. This makes it hard for security teams to maintain a detailed understanding of all the vulnerabilities which exist, often leaving such weaknesses unguarded against cyber threats.
Aging Hardware
While it could be argued that software is immune from degradation, hardware certainly isn’t, and with many legacy systems resting upon similarly outdated legacy hardware the result is often an increase in downtime as the years pass. In a worst-case-scenario, reliance on such unreliable hardware could lead to data corruption or loss. Additionally, legacy hardware is often incompatible with the latest security advances, resulting in data storage which is more exposed to online threats.
Failure to keep pace with cyber threats
Lack of ongoing support for legacy software leaves cyber weaknesses unrepaired and data more vulnerable to attack. This lack of continued support also means such systems lack the features and capabilities that the modern threat landscape demands. Security protocols such a multi-factor authentication and the latest encryption standards are rarely supported by legacy systems.
Compliance Concerns
With both industry-specific and more general compliance regulations (such as GDPR) to deal with, companies great and small must take great care to protect any sensitive data they are entrusted with. Such legislation requires data handlers to govern personal information with confidence, demonstrate an understanding of where data is held, who has access to it and what controls and technical instruments are in place to defend it. Achieving these aims is far harder with legacy systems. Often, they prohibit the implementation of the required security instruments as mentioned above, but they also typically make data governance far more difficult, with information held in isolated siloes with little in the way of centralised oversight.
Conclusion
You can have the best security policies in place and ensure your team is up-to-date on cyber security best practice, but if you rely heavily on legacy systems your best efforts could be in vain. Such applications are simply not fit to deal with the tenacity, sophistication and prevalence of today’s cyber threats, with outdated systems often lagging decades behind their modern counterparts in terms of security features.
In our next article, we’ll explore the ways legacy systems could be making life difficult for your team and damaging your bottom line.
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