Hidden dangers of outdated software: It’s not necessarily the unusual zero-day attacks or the big ransomware crews that cause the biggest harm in cybersecurity. It’s often something straightforward such as neglecting a software update alert, that brings about the largest security breaches. Official IBM data found that an estimated 32% of cyberattacks in 2023 originated from unresolved issues in software. That’s not something minor to miss. That’s a result of people leaving basic cybersecurity measures undone.
A lot of people see software updates primarily as ways to improve look or speed. Typically, a patch covers a security issue that hackers have already learned and take advantage of. Still, dozens of organizations do not deal with ESG, answering the question: Why?
One of the Most Powerful Tools of Hackers
Be direct — using old computer software puts you at high risk. It makes your place like the house on the block where the break-ins always happen. Here’s the frightening bit. Modern attacks often come from people who are not highly experienced. Because of easily accessible exploit kits on the dark web, individuals new to hacking can still conduct effective attacks on systems with known software flaws.
The breach Equifax suffered in 2017 is a good example. Because Equifax did not update the Apache Struts framework correctly, millions of people’s data was exposed. A similar thing happened in March 2024 in Australia, as a regional council’s network was compromised because their Fortinet VPNs were not updated (CVE-2023-27997). After 5 hours of exploitation, attackers had taken the stolen data.
They are not stand-alone incidents. They prove how past versions of software are roadmaps that allow intruders to enter. Bitdefender Labs reported in 2023 that more than 70% of the attacks were made with the repeated use of old exploits that targeted computers and mobile devices without the latest updates.
Companies Have to Deal With Recurring Patches
You could think — if the dangers are so high, why are organizations not being more careful with patching? It is all about people being tired of paying for updates. IT departments face a lot of update alerts all the time on servers, endpoints, mobile devices and cloud applications. It’s overwhelming.
The Ponemon Institute found that an enterprise needs about 205 days to fix a known significant vulnerability. In other words, that’s about seven months of living with the health risk. Why is there a delay?
- The concern of a service disruption or an application breaking
- Not knowing what outdated assets are present (mainly shadow IT).
- Not having enough staff and the use of manual software patching
A colleague of mine, who was CISO at a London-based startup fintech firm, gave me this advice.
What really scared us the most wasn’t the hackers; it was the chance that a bad patch could take down our payment systems. This is what made us hold off. As a result, we suffered a damaging ransomware attack in 2022.
Missing a Single Update Can Cause a Huge Breach
The issue of not updating just one system? That can lead to other issues arising. SolarWinds is an example, being a breach from tainted updates that allowed attackers to penetrate U.S. government networks in 2020. That attack could escalate because many endpoints were not up-to-date and not monitored, making them vulnerable without proper protection.
In January 2025, an issue in a Citrix Gateway caused a security breach with a medical records firm in Canada. They then moved deeper into the network, encrypting important patient information at the amount of over 2 TB and told the hospital to pay a ransom of $2.1 million. The breach made over 280,000 patient files vulnerable. The kicker? A solution to that vulnerability had been released four months earlier.
After attackers break in through a vulnerable pathway, the rest of the network is at serious risk. A single mistake in keeping up with regulatory changes can endanger many businesses.
Smart Patching Isn’t Just Possible — It’s Critical
What should we do to solve this problem? Just increasing the number of people working on the problem isn’t always the answer. Organizations are now encouraged to automate their patching, so it runs in the background without human effort or danger.
Based on what’s happening in 2025, there are a few key things that are helping overcome issues.
- Tools for automated rollout of security updates such as Automox, ManageEngine and Microsoft Intune
- AI-powered vulnerability prioritization helps find the patches that require immediate attention using up-to-date threat reports
- Good ideas to remove old software before it turns into a problem
- It is important to apply Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) which assumes breaches and reduces the damage caused by vulnerable systems.
Most CISOs these days plan Patch Wednesdays, inviting all departments to take part with ways to reverse any updates if needed. No, it’s not very exciting to look at, but it does the job.
Main Idea: Lack of Interest Is the Biggest Weakness
Simply put, by 2025, not patching up vulnerabilities is both careless and hazardous. Criminals don’t have to create new scams because we regularly use outdated practices. Moreover, a lot of companies still think updates are things they can ignore instead of hard rules.
Check if the culture in your organization favors acting ahead or reacting too late. Are you ensuring digital security — or crossing your fingers that nobody wrongly approaches your company?
Since 32% of breaches happen due to outdated software, developing new solutions won’t fix anything. It’s discipline. With new technological progress, we also need to change our perspective. Being inactive in cybersecurity is more expensive than coping with new technologies and methods.