Security and IT Operations Expert 1E Provides Advice, Solutions For Enterprises Concerned About WannaCry and Other Ransomware Attacks

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 17, 2017) - Friday's massive WannaCry ransomware attack, which brought thousands of companies to their knees, has highlighted the need for enterprises to accelerate their Win 10 migrations -- as WannaCry takes advantages of security flaws in earlier versions of Windows.

While companies who have upgraded to Win 10 -- and applied subsequent patches -- should be protected from these types of attacks, a 1E survey of 1,000+ U.S. IT pros conducted in March 2017 found that only 9 percent of enterprises had completed their Win 10 migrations. Another 38 percent said their migrations were underway, but the majority of respondents (64 percent) predicted that their migrations would take more than a year to complete.

That obviously leaves many U.S. enterprises immediately exposed to WannaCry and its successors.

1E, which provides the only software lifecycle automation solutions that can handle both routine IT tasks and emergency actions in real time, provides the following advice to enterprises concerned about WannaCry and other types of ransomware attacks:

• You have to know whether all your software is current or not, and which devices are on the network at any given time. Most companies don't know. IT teams need to have a process in place for understanding the current status of all software and devices.
• Enterprises who are of the mindset that software updates, patches and upgrades can be delayed need to instead make it a habit to implement updates as soon as they are available.
• To make it easier, they should automate the process of updates, freeing IT staff from the costly and time-consuming necessity of touching every system personally.
• Inevitably, some hackers will still get through -- when they do, you need to be able to respond immediately. Currently, most organizations require days or weeks to address a major security flaw. Put the proper systems in place to enable real-time response.

1E's founder and CEO Sumir Karayi said, "We believe the WannaCry scare was a huge wake-up call for enterprises that have been dragging their feet on Win 10 migrations. Just since Friday, we've seen a big uptick in interest from companies exploring how to accelerate their migrations or automate their patching processes."

1E is also seeing an increase in companies looking to automate patch deployment for their Windows environments. "At a very large enterprise, it's not unusual for it to take over a week to deploy an 'emergency' patch," said Karayi. "During that lag, the bad guys are still able to exploit vulnerabilities -- IT teams need to compress the patch deployment cycle from days down to minutes, and always stay current with Windows updates."

To learn more about 1E solutions for security and IT operations -- including Tachyon for real-time patch deployment and Windows Servicing Suite for automating and accelerating Win 10 migrations -- visit www.1E.com.

About 1E
In an age where every business depends on software for its daily operations, only 1E's Software Lifecycle Automation solutions allow companies to fully automate routine IT tasks and respond to infrastructure emergencies in real time. 1E's solutions enhance Microsoft's SCCM and complement other device management platforms to manage the entire software lifecycle -- request, acquire, deploy, secure, retire -- and allow IT teams to work faster and stay focused on business-critical innovation. 1,700+ customers around the world, including Verizon Wireless, Dell, ING, Nestlé, BNP Paribas and Ford Motor Company, rely on 1E to gain unprecedented insight and control over their IT estates. Learn more at www.1E.com or follow @1E_Global.