Every office has one.

That old firewall you “meant to replace.”

The dusty printer in the closet still connected to Wi-Fi.

The forgotten PC under someone’s desk running an unsupported OS.

It doesn’t look dangerous. But I’ve been in this game long enough to tell you: that’s the stuff that gets you hacked.

Old Tech Doesn’t Age Gracefully—It Turns Into Bait

When my team runs assessments, we don’t start by looking for fancy nation-state-level exploits. We start with the low-hanging fruit—the gear no one’s touched in years.

Outdated firmware. Unpatched vulnerabilities. Default credentials that haven’t been changed since the device was first powered on.

Guess what? Hackers love that stuff.

It’s how ransomware gets in. Not through some sophisticated zero-day, but through the 12-year-old network switch you forgot was even there.

“It’s Not Doing Anything” Is Exactly the Problem

I hear it all the time.

“It’s not active anymore.”

“It’s just there as a backup.”

“We’ve never had an issue with it.”

That logic makes sense—right up until it doesn’t.

Because old tech doesn’t just quietly sit around. It becomes invisible. Unmonitored. Unpatched. And that makes it the perfect door for someone who wants to walk in unnoticed.

I’ve Seen It Happen

One client—great team, strong IT, thought they were locked down—got hit through an old copier.

No one realized it still had SMBv1 enabled. That one weak link was enough. The attackers got in, moved laterally, and locked the whole network. Six figures in downtime.

All because of a printer.

So What Do You Do?

  1. Take Inventory. Every device. Every IP. If you don’t know what’s connected, you’re flying blind.
  2. Get It Analyzed. Not just by your IT guy—get a third-party look. Someone who isn’t used to your network and will ask the dumb questions.
  3. Shut It Down or Lock It Down. If it’s not essential, unplug it. If it is, patch it and monitor it like it matters—because it does.

The Bottom Line

You’re not getting hacked because of some massive, targeted campaign. You’re getting hacked because of that $200 switch you forgot to toss during your last upgrade.

Clean it up before someone uses it against you.