If you’ve got a Windows 2003 server running your small or medium-sized business network, you need to take the FREAK threat seriously. The vulnerabilities in various operating systems that this attack is taking advantage of are enabled in Windows 2003 and turning them off is not an option.
Did Microsoft not see this coming? Well Microsoft isn’t investing in Windows 2003 anymore and actually benefits when these types of critical security issues arise because they compel business owners to invest in new equipment and more importantly new software. A small business running its network on “Active Directory” would be thinking its time to invest $10K in a new server and several thousand more in new software.
What if we told you that the services provided by Active Directory are not proprietary at all, but are a set of open standards and network protocols called LDAP. OpenLDAP is the open source standard of this solution. You should try it! It’s free. Have your IT person install it on even an old server and learn how to use it. In fact, have your IT person find free and open source solutions to all sorts of problems. Need help? Give us a call.