abillybob Posted January 19, 2018 Posted January 19, 2018 Hello All So started my new job which I'm really enjoying thus far by the way! But I've noticed that they have touch screen computers running Windows XP on a few machines. These aren't connected to the internet but are connected internally to different servers. The company that provides us with these are saying it's fine as they don't connect externally but I'm not convinced... Should I still be concerned and demand they upgrade the OS and if so why, I've got some ideas such as another server or computer on the network being infected by a patched virus and thus can spread and do damage to these touch screen units, this could be possible right? Any help would be most appreciated!
NB9457 Posted January 19, 2018 Posted January 19, 2018 Hello All So started my new job which I'm really enjoying thus far by the way! But I've noticed that they have touch screen computers running Windows XP on a few machines. These aren't connected to the internet but are connected internally to different servers. The company that provides us with these are saying it's fine as they don't connect externally but I'm not convinced... Should I still be concerned and demand they upgrade the OS and if so why, I've got some ideas such as another server or computer on the network being infected by a patched virus and thus can spread and do damage to these touch screen units, this could be possible right? Any help would be most appreciated! Catering by any chance? If so, have you checked whether they're XP POS 2009? If they are, they're still in extended support until next year. I wouldn't worry too much, we have a few domain joined legacy XP machines that operate old equipment and I can't see the immediate threat, the AV is still supported and they aren't heavily used for anything other than operating equipment.
Arthur Posted January 19, 2018 Posted January 19, 2018 These aren't connected to the internet but are connected internally to different servers. Do the different servers have to have SMB1 left enabled because of the XP PCs? That's not too good.
abillybob Posted January 19, 2018 Author Posted January 19, 2018 Do the different servers have to have SMB1 left enabled because of the XP PCs? That's not too good. Apparently it is enabled... Would you be able to tell me what the risks are with this?
angrycomputingteacher Posted January 19, 2018 Posted January 19, 2018 Apparently it is enabled... Would you be able to tell me what the risks are with this? SMB1 is the protocol that was used to distribute the WannaCry ransomware attack last year. You can read up on disabling it here.
Arthur Posted January 19, 2018 Posted January 19, 2018 Apparently it is enabled... Would you be able to tell me what the risks are with this? The blog post by Microsoft has more details... http://aka.ms/StopUsingSMB1 The last thing you want is to make it easy for future WannaCry-like malware to infect your network.
abillybob Posted January 19, 2018 Author Posted January 19, 2018 The blog post by Microsoft has more details... http://aka.ms/StopUsingSMB1 The last thing you want is to make it easy for future WannaCry-like malware to infect your network. But is it possible to do this when the XP Machines aren't connected to the internet?
elsiegee40 Posted January 19, 2018 Posted January 19, 2018 But is it possible to do this when the XP Machines aren't connected to the internet?What are they connected to? If they're on any kind of network then these things spread like wildfire and they are potentially vulnerable
abillybob Posted January 19, 2018 Author Posted January 19, 2018 What are they connected to? If they're on any kind of network then these things spread like wildfire and they are potentially vulnerable They're stand alone machines but do connect back to an SQL Server, the SQL Server is 2012 R2 but is running smb1 as a result of having to connect to the XP Machines.
elsiegee40 Posted January 19, 2018 Posted January 19, 2018 They're stand alone machines but do connect back to an SQL Server, the SQL Server is 2012 R2 but is running smb1 as a result of having to connect to the XP Machines.In which case they're not standalone. A standalone machine has no Cat5 connected to it. It just sits on a desk plugged into the electric supply and may be connected to a few peripheral devices. 1
Arthur Posted January 19, 2018 Posted January 19, 2018 (edited) But is it possible to do this when the XP Machines aren't connected to the internet? I was thinking more of the effect it has on your servers. By keeping XP PCs around you are unable to disable SMB1 on the servers, therefore making them more vulnerable to attack/infection than they need to be. They're standalone machines but do connect back to an SQL Server, the SQL Server is 2012 R2 Like @elsiegee40, I wouldn't describe them as standalone. Edited January 19, 2018 by Arthur Typo 2
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