Hard-to-patch and unpatchable servers exist in a variety of vertical industries as well as horizontal applications. An order processing system in the retail world is a relevant example because of the strictly regimented maintenance window procedure within that vertical. Voice over IP (VoIP) is a prime example of a horizontal application that is hard-to-patch because of restrictions by the VoIP software vendors around patching the underlying operating system. This paper seeks to provide a comprehensive list of these servers and, more importantly, outline current strategies for dealing with the problem.

Reprinted with Permission from Gregory Ness Vice President of Blue Lane Technologies