What’s the biggest security hole facing your hospital? It’s your outdated version of Internet Explorer!
Microsoft used to support “old” browser versions for years after new versions were released. But now their model is changing, largely in response to competing browsers that automatically update and stay current over time.
From the official Microsoft Product Lifecycle page: “Beginning January 12, 2016, only the most current version of Internet Explorer available for a supported operating system will receive technical support and security updates.”
It’s predicted that more than a third of Internet users are on versions of Internet Explorer that will cease to receive support after the January deadline. And that percentage is likely higher in hospitals.
Healthcare organization struggle to keep up with new versions largely because they use browser-based systems that fail to keep up with the updates.
This is an actual warning message from a hospital website.
Looking at statistics for administrative users of Geonetric’s VitalSite™ content management system, 82% of the Internet Explorer sessions come from IE7, IE8, IE9, and IE10 all of which Microsoft will not support after January 12!
The risk to your organization, of course, is that new vulnerabilities will be found in the older versions of Internet Explorer. Every month Microsoft has released patches to correct these issues in the constant battle to protect users from hackers and viruses. After January 12, no more patches will come.
The clock is ticking. Talk to your I.T. team about keep your browser updated.
For more information on the end of IE support as we know it, visit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/End-of-IE-support
