How Software Modernization Can Strengthen Your Cybersecurity

Is Your Legacy Software Your Biggest Security Risk?

Computer systems, platforms, and programs need regular updates. If your corporate software has not been updated for some time, it may be not compatible with newer versions of operating systems and modern devices. Legacy systems developed around a decade or more ago, often run on outdated protocols or utilize unsupported libraries which makes them exposed to modern security threats. Thus, some sensitive data — personal, financial information, intellectual property — may leak or be corrupted due to outdated solutions being exploited in the company.

Why Companies Hesitate to Modernize

Legacy software modernization is often a challenge for companies as this comes with some related issues and uncertainties. Here are some of them:

• Modernization costs. Any extensive software update requires funds and efforts, which may appear to be more significant than it had been expected before the start.
• Business disruption. Updating the existing system may pose risks of disruption of business processes, and lead to decreased efficiency, productivity and performance.
• Integration issues. A new or updated system may lack compatibility with legacy infrastructure which can lead to challenges with data migration and interoperability.
• Lack of tech skills. Lots of companies prefer to use their legacy software despite its decreased adaptability, as they experience shortage of tech skills and IT knowledge necessary to implement modern systems and perform digital transformation. Getting bespoke software development services provides you with required knowledge of skilled specialists, as well as necessary training on how to use the updated system.
• Data loss. System modernization requires data migration, which poses risks of errors, misalignment, corruption etc.

While there are some reasonable concerns related to modernization, there is a popular point of view which may be expressed as “if it works, don’t touch it”. An existing system performs it functions properly, the company may rely on it, so why to update anything and face risks? But what if not updating poses a bigger risk — risk of losing competitive ability?

How Modernization Strengthens Your Security Posture

Modernization should be driven by the company’s urge to stay on the competitive edge; meanwhile, it is often performed when the existing software is already showing too many flaws.

Instead of having fears of security issues related to software modernization, better look at the security features modern technologies implement by default. These features protect your data reliably, prevent abuse and attacks, and patch vulnerabilities.

• OAuth 2.0 — standard authorization protocol which allows to access resources without exposing credentials.
• Multi-factor authentication, MFA — additional security layer beyond entering login and password; is implemented by default in many SaaS platforms.
• Transport Layer Security, TLS — standard for HTTPS, ensures data encryption at exchanges between users and servers.
• Built-in Input Sanitization is included in most modern frameworks like Django, Spring, ASP.NET.
• Secure APIs which now come with JSON Web Tokens securing stateless authentication, CORS headers which control cross-origin requests, and rate limiting to prevent DoS attacks.
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) integration which can come as built-in or third-party service, for safe logging and monitoring.
• Security tools integration in CI/CD pipelines, like SAST for static code analysis, Snyk or Dependabot for dependency scanning.

Advanced cybersecurity solutions utilize artificial intelligence, gaining more and more popularity these days, and helpful in modernization processes. AI-based monitoring tools detect possible threats, behavior anomalies, and policy violations in real time. After finding an anomaly, they can trigger alerts, prevent access to the system, or take any other predefined actions automatically. These tools can be integrated into an updated system at later stages, or after the implementation. For example:

• Darktrace can be implemented to detect insider threats, data exfiltration, and immediate mitigation actions.
• Microsoft Defender for endpoint — to detect suspicious behavior through machine learning, automated investigation and response to threats.

Real Benefits: What a New Codebase Enables

Modern IT technologies offer you a lot of opportunities to manage security and compliance of your legacy system. Software modernization provides you with advantages related to functionality, security, scalability and other features of the system.

Less Unpatchable CVEs

Common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) become unpatchable due to outdated hardware like CPUs or memory chips, unmodifiable firmware which not supporting updates, or unsupported software no longer maintained by its vendor.

System modernization allows to examine all the components, find vulnerabilities and eliminate them, or mitigate the risks, while providing an opportunity of further updates, upgraded functionality and better security.

Improved Auditability

Modernized systems are known for structured and time-stamped logs, which improve traceability and monitoring procedures. Role-based access control and policy-based logging process simplify audit, with user activity logs that can be correlated with IP addresses and corresponding actions. Data flow tracing enabled by microservices and event-driven architecture allow to perform detailed audits.

Compliance with Current Standards: GDPR, HIPAA

GDPR and HIPAA both require personal and sensitive data protection. Modernized systems implement role-based access control and attribute-based access control, which limit the access to sensitive information to users having relevant authorization. Data encryption algorithms at rest and transit also guarantee information confidentiality. Improved tracking of logging and access to data support GDPR and HIPAA requirements related to breach detection with corresponding timelines (72 hours for GDPR).

Besides this, modernized systems offer improved scalability due to utilizing elastic, cloud infrastructure, implementation of microservice architecture, safe and continuous deployment etc. The possibility of integration with modern third-party cybersecurity tools is also a valuable benefit of modernization.

Upgrade Your Corporate Software Safely

Timely software modernization ensures better security, decreased vulnerability, automatic scaling, and other improvements which positively influence overall functionality of the system, its ability to protect data, provide stable operation, security and transparency. Modernization is not an action that should be taken every few years; it may be an ongoing process with disruption minimized and business operating smoothly. Having an experienced and professional software development partner can help you pass through this process without any trouble.