TEMPE, Ariz., April 13, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Insight Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:NSIT), a leading worldwide technology provider of hardware, software and service solutions, today announced representatives from Insight's US operating division are at the nation's largest gathering of healthcare technology leaders to spotlight the risks of failing to address the pending end of service for Microsoft Windows Server 2003. On July 14, 2015, Microsoft will cease support for this widely-used operating system and Insight has found many healthcare institutions have yet to take the critical steps to prepare for this change and protect their sensitive data.
At the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference at McCormick Place in Chicago, Insight made available to the 38,000 attendees detailed information on how to protect information stored on millions of computer servers from cyber attacks and data loss.
Department of Health and Human Services data shows that since 2009, the personal health record data of 120 million people has been compromised during 1,100 separate breaches. Attack incidents have increased annually, and if healthcare organizations don't prepare for the end of service for Microsoft Windows Server 2003, the risk of a material breach increases significantly. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in an alert said computer systems running the unsupported Microsoft Server 2003 operating system are exposed to elevated cybersecurity risks such as malicious attacks or electronic data loss.
"The end of service for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 presents one of the most far-reaching risks to health data we have seen," said David Cristal, Vice President of Sales, Public Sector and Healthcare. "We are connecting with healthcare leaders here at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems event to help them understand and then address the end of service so we can limit the risks of exposing sensitive health data."
Microsoft research in 2014 reported that 23.8 million instances of Windows Server 2003 were running on 11.9 million physical servers worldwide. That's an estimated 39% of all installed Microsoft Server operating systems. On July 14, 2015, Microsoft will phase out support and no longer provide critical support, automatic fixes, updates, or provide technical assistance. Healthcare institutions have options including an upgrade to a newer, supported operating system, replacement of servers or transitioning IT operations to a cloud-based service.
"It doesn't matter if the operating system is an integral or minor part of a data center, the risk is the same," Cristal said. "The healthcare and technology industries are working together to make sure the data center holes big and small are filled so attackers can't gain control and severely exploit this issue."
Insight has made information available during the HIMSS event at booth 8351 in Hall North detailing the approaches healthcare institutions can take to mitigate the end of service. For more information on the issue, visit www.insight.com/ServerIgnite or call 800-INSIGHT.
About Insight
Insight Enterprises, Inc. is a leading technology provider of hardware, software and service solutions to business and government clients in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. Insight is focused on helping organizations move technology goals forward in the areas of Office Productivity, Unified Communications and Collaboration, Mobility, Network and Security, Data Center and Virtualization, Data Protection and Cloud. Insight has sold over seven million business and public sector client cloud seats across the globe. With approximately 5,400 teammates worldwide, Insight is ranked No. 483 on the 2014 Fortune 500 and generated sales of $5.3 billion for the year ended December 31, 2014. For more information, please call 1.800.INSIGHT (1.800.467.4448) in the United States or visit www.insight.com. NSIT-M