Microsoft Redmond, Washington headquarters.

 

Earlier this year, Microsoft Corp. announced it would no longer support 10-year-old and 11-year-old operating systems Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008.

On Jan. 14, 2020, the tech giant, who made a commitment to support Windows 7 for 10 years after it was released in 2009, will no longer update or develop security patches for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. 

Cybersecurity law firm consultants say holding onto outdated operating systems puts law firms' cybersecurity at risk and restricts the firm's tech abilities.

"I think people need to be proactive and know that if they have an operating system that is 10 years old, the writing is on the wall that they won't continue to have much support for it," said Frank Zurek, president of LaSalle Consulting Partners, a technology and managed services consulting company.

Still, law firms should be motivated to upgrade their operating system to leverage more advanced programs and features, Zurek said.

"Windows 7 was released in October 2009. It's a 10-year-old operating system already, it really doesn't make sense—even if it wasn't the end of the lifecycle—to keep that operating system just because of the new things that are available with an operating system like Windows 10," he said.

For example, if a law firm is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 in 2019, that may be a strong indication that the firm isn't leveraging the cloud or is using an outdated Microsoft Office suite, billing system platform and other programs, Zurek noted.

"If we come across Windows 7 or a firm running Windows Server 2008, they are probably behind technology-wise throughout the organization," he said.

Consultants said law firms that haven't upgraded from Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 aren't necessarily staunch supporters of the operating system. Rather, the announcement that tech support will end, pushes most firms to finally upgrade their computers.

Indeed, Diane Camacho, founder and CEO of solo and boutique law firm management consulting provider DLC Consulting Services, said the firms she works with mostly upgrade their operating systems when they buy a new fleet of office computers every few years.

"Most of the firms I work with are annoyed when they have to buy new software or technology." However, they purchase new computers and operating systems to keep up with Microsoft's enhancements to continue meeting their administrative and practice needs, she said.

Similarly, upgrading from Windows Server 2008 to the latest version doesn't just require purchasing and installing Windows Server 2019, Zurek said. "They will have to rebuild the server with 2019. They will have to move all their applications to 2019 and make sure they work on [Windows Server] 2019," he explained.

Even if the firm upgrades its operating system, Zurek noted lawyers and staffers also need to upgrade their operating systems at home.

"If they remotely connect to the office, it's possible something that may infect them or some sort of malware or hacker that gets into their home computer could possibly breach the law firm's network," he said. "We typically tell our clients to use the same precautions they practice in the office in the home, which would mean getting off of Windows 7 at home also."