GROUP 2 CAT
MEMBERS
BRILLIAN CHERONO
CIT-222-061/2018
IVY JEPKIRUI
CIT-22-029/2018
KIPTOO DARIUS
CIT-222-015/2018
KIBET COLLINS
CIT-222-051/2018
WAITHIRA AGNES WANJIKU
CIT-222-038/2018
VINCENT MWANGI
CIT-222-058/2017
BRIAN MUNENE
CIT-222-072/2018
KENNEDY KIMUTAI
IST-222-010/2011
QUESTION
a) You are a network administrator in a company ABC. You have found out that the
company is running very old hardware, and is running an unsupported version of
windows on those computers. What would you advise them about the security
implications of running an unsupported version of windows on their network?
As Microsoft works on pushing new technology out, they will often mark older operating
systems and applications as obsolete. Many individuals or companies may be tempted to keep
running unsupported version for various reasons and needless to say the security implications it
poses.
Problems that come with using outdated versions of windows are:

No security patches
This is the biggest problem when running an unsupported operating system. Once your software
stops being supported, the updates and security patches stop, which means you’ve handed over
the system’s keys to an army of potential hackers. Without regular security patches, your systems
gets more and more vulnerable, resulting in an increased risk of being breached by malware and
ransomware. In addition, your manuals and system documentation may no longer be relevant
over time, which makes it difficult for IT teams to maintain your systems.

Missing new functionality
Additionally, the system or application will not benefit from new functionality. When a new
operating system or application is released, it includes a whole bundle of new functionality that
the previous operating system lacks. These can be useful functions that add to productivity or
increase the effectiveness of the system, but they also usually include new security features. This
can be something like adding support for multi-factor authentication. By choosing not to upgrade
to a supported operating system, you are missing out on these features, some of which could be
vital parts of your defense-in-depth strategy.

Third-party software
If you are using third-party software and applications on an unsupported operating system, it is
likely that these third-party applications are no longer supported either. Most vendors only test
and release updates for their software on subsets of operating systems, which will almost never
include unsupported operating systems. This could mean that over time, those third party
applications will stop running effectively, or at all. This could lead to an unplanned loss in
productivity, increase in employee frustration trying to get the system to work, or even worse,
more vulnerabilities.
solution
The implication of using unsupported operating system can be dangerous in many aspects such
as the system updates can be a risk for the computer that means no security patches are present.
Authorization of 3rd party does will not support the operating system, functionality will be lost,
hippa compilation problem will occur, Data risk of customer is a vital issue that would hamper
the company image. So there will be some suggestion to mitigate this issue and those are
employee should keep track of applications and all legacy systems, those system needs to isolate
from the primary networks using strict rules of accessing, and they needs to monitor the use.
First it is unethical to use an unsupported system so company needs to change the system as per
its convenience. It may cost a huge amount but most important is the information security.
Somehow the system get hacked or crash for updating any software then company might loss all
its data which is undesirable. Proper use of technical tools and improvement in technical
specifications that is required for making business profitable needs to be evaluated and then it
needs to be implemented. Improved technology makes proper use of data and the security of that
data is important and if windows unsupported version is used then proper use of data cannot be
made. Implications of proper strategies for understanding of proper technical specifications are
essential for profits of business and also technical specifications are essential for implementation
of strategies and also profitability of business.
The obvious and if not most logical thing to do would be to run a supported Windows version.
Furthermore, there should be frequent updates to the software to replace outdated systems. or
those operating systems that cannot be replaced for whatever reason, you need to look at these as
ticking time bombs. Assume that they will be compromised, and then assess what the damage
will be when they are. There are steps you can take to reduce the severity, including:

Segment these devices into their own VLAN with strong access controls. Controls should
follow a white-list approach. This means locking down who can access this system by
those who have a business justification, and denying all other access. This also means
you should control what this unsupported device can access, and denying access to
anything else.

Use different passwords on these devices that aren’t shared with any other systems.
Again, you have to assume they will be compromised eventually. If a device is
compromised, the first thing an attacker will do is to dump passwords from memory. This
includes both the local accounts on the system, and any domain users who has logged
into the system if the system is vulnerable to something such as WDigest. Therefore, you
should have separate accounts on this system than anywhere else. This will prevent an
attacker form reusing those credentials elsewhere.

Monitor these systems closely. You may want to consider adding a firewall with an
intrusion detection/prevention system with very strict rules to this network segment.
Additionally, priority should be given to any alert that comes from these systems, as it
may indicate an attack that can be stopped quickly if you respond.
b) Business relationships happen in a commercial context and vary depending on
industry structure and interrelationships. List two external customers you would
form relationships with in each category:
Essential Service suppliers – Gas and electricity suppliers
Hospitality suppliers – Food and equipment suppliers
Communication Suppliers – internet and surveillance suppliers
Distribution – Shipping and courier companies
Marketing – advertising and printing agencies