Outdated PCs are Holes in Your Cybersecurity Armor

Remember the story of the Greek hero Achilles? As a child, his mother dipped him in the River Styx to make him invincible - but she missed his heel. Adversaries discovered the vulnerability and used it in battle, leading to Achilles' demise. PC security works the same way. Even with strong security measures, neglecting one vulnerability, like outdated technology or unpatched software, will leave you exposed.

The moral of the story:If any PCs on your fleet are four years old, your organization could be at risk. Windows 10 support endsOctober 2025. Older PCs will stop receiving security updates, new feature updates and technical support. What's more, they may not meet Windows 11 requirements.

Keep in mind that threat actors are growing in sophistication as they adopt the latest technology to launch cyberattacks that are more precise and harder to detect. Newer AI-enabled endpoint security can help counter risk created by emerging attack vectors.

It's time to plan an upgrade.

Three Ways to Enhance Security as You Upgrade

Refreshing your PC fleet is more than just a technical upgrade; it's a strategic move to enhance your organization's security posture. As you upgrade, take advantage of the latest defenses Dell offers to keep your fleet resilient.

Be secure from first boot. Dell takes supply chain security seriously. Rigorous controls and supply chain assurance are designed to provide peace of mind that devices are delivered as they were ordered.

Upgrade Tip: Given growing concern about supply chain attacks and device tampering, authorities have issued extensive guidance on secure procurement in recent years. As you upgrade, consider adding Dell-unique Secured Component Verification (SCV)¹ to new devicesto verify PC integrity at-will.

Keep devices secure in-use. Threat actors are relentless and can attack a single PC dozens of times over its lifetime. With Dell, multiple built-in features protect the device in-use, down to the BIOS firmware layer. In fact, according to Principled Technologies, no other PC manufacturer offers the BIOS-level visibility Dell does².

Upgrade Tip: Recent hardware and software security integrations on Intel-based commercial AI PCs deliver game-changing options for enhanced security. At procurement, ask for a demo of "hardware-assisted security,"a joint solution featuring the collective firepower of Dell, Intel and CrowdStrike. Take it a step further and activate Intel and CrowdStrike's integrated threat detectionleveraging the neural processing unit (NPU).

Plan for the worst-case scenario - a breach.No security strategy is foolproof. As you refresh, be sure you factor in recovery and remediation. On-device features like Dell-unique BIOS image capture³for forensic analysis will help remediation.

Another countermeasure to explore: self-healing solutions. Using its proprietary Persistence technology, our partner Absolute can automatically monitor, repair, re-install and heal endpoints, networks and applications in case of tampering even if the hard drive is wiped or swapped before the first boot. In fact, the benefits extend beyond reactive remediation. Existing Absolute customers can use it to streamline Windows 11 migration. Scan the entire fleet to determine which devices are ready to migrate and which assets need to be replaced with new Dell devices.

Upgrade tip: At purchase, opt to factory-install the Absolute Persistence agent in a one-touch process directly from a Dell-owned and managed factory. Doing so provides unprecedented endpoint visibility, control and resilience, all while removing a step in your procurement process in a safe and controlled environment.

Simplify Procurement with Dell

Keeping your IT infrastructure up to date is not just a choice-it's a necessity. Let Dell help simplify your PC refresh. We ease procurement by helping customers consolidate providers while covering both IT andsecurity needs. Upgrade to Windows 11 Pro and the latest Intel processors on the world's most secure commercial AI PCs.⁴ Layer on advanced security solutions from our ecosystem of expert partners.

Don't let outdated PCs be the Achilles' heel of your organization. Contact one of our security specialists to see how Dell can assist with your refresh.

¹ Based on Dell internal analysis, October 2024. Applicable to PCs on Intel processors. Not all features available with all PCs. Additional purchase required for some features.

^2-4 Based on Dell internal analysis, October 2024. Applicable to PCs on Intel processors. Not all features available with all PCs. Additional purchase required for some features. Validated by Principled Technologies. A comparison of security features, April 2024.

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