Derisking end-of-life IT assets

Jon Abbott at ThreatAware argues that ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to decommissioning old IT assets

 

When we talk about cyber-security, the focus naturally falls on live systems, managing the endpoints and accounts currently in use. It’s a sensible focal point – we all know there are threat actors out there searching for ways to exploit these essential assets.

 

But there are other less obvious dangers to consider in the form of dormant devices, expired accounts, and forgotten endpoints that are still connected but going unmonitored. These old ghosts sitting in the shadows of the IT estate can be just as dangerous if cyber-criminals get their hooks into them.

 

The NCSC recently shone a light on the issue with new guidance on decommissioning digital assets. It’s a timely reminder that how we retire our IT assets is just as critical as how we secure them in operation, because it only takes one unmanaged device to open the door to compromise.

 

End-of-life assets: a perfect entry point for attackers

It’s incredibly common for end-of-life devices to stay connected to the network. In fact, we find that, on average, we know from our own data that 41% of devices in an organisation’s environment are classed as end-of-life.

 

They tend to fade into the background, effectively becoming invisible. But they’re very much visible to the threat actors searching for a way into the network. Attackers are constantly scanning for paths of least resistance, and devices that have reached end-of-life are more likely to be missing patches, unsupported by vendors, and sitting outside the remit of IT or security teams.

 

The threat doesn’t stop at endpoints either. Dormant user accounts, orphaned virtual machines and legacy applications all represent blind spots. And in cyber-security, the risks you can’t see are the greatest risks of all.

 

These rogue assets are often regarded as small oversights, but they’re fundamental risks. A single unmanaged device, quietly connected to the network and missing the right controls or a stale account with active permissions can offer attackers a direct route into the business.

 

What the NCSC advises – and why it matters

The NCSC’s recent guidance lays out a clear framework for how organisations should decommission their IT assets and why it should be taken seriously. It’s not just about ticking boxes for compliance. It’s about closing off attack paths that could otherwise go unnoticed.

 

The fundamentals are straightforward, with the lynchpin being the maintenance of a live and accurate asset inventory. Organisations are also advised to start decommissioning in advance – ideally at the point of procurement or migration. Backing up critical data and ensuring all media is securely sanitised or physically destroyed is another key step to prevent any kind of data breach.

 

The NCSC also urges firms to document every step. That means clear audit trails, verification logs and, where relevant, certificates of destruction.

 

This is all sound advice. If an asset is still accessible, even partially, it’s an exploitable liability. Decommissioning should never be an afterthought and needs to be built into the fabric of IT asset management, treated with the same rigour as any other security control.

 

Where organisations go wrong

The NCSC’s guidance may seem a bit belt-and-braces, but despite best intentions, many organisations are still missing out on these crucial steps. There’s a tendency to approach decommissioning as a reactive chore , something to deal with only when systems are obviously outdated or physically removed. But that mindset leaves dangerous gaps with orphaned assets remaining connected long after they’ve fallen off the radar.

 

Effective asset management is one of the most critical capabilities here, and decommissioning often stalls because inventories are outdated or incomplete. It’s a common pitfall for asset inventories to become static checklists rather than living documents and, as a result, we regularly see environments where 30% of assets are missing from supposedly up-to-date inventories. Manual audits and agent-based tools can’t keep pace with the speed and sprawl of modern IT.

 

Compounding the issue is tool sprawl and siloed teams. Visibility breaks down when security and IT operate on separate platforms, using a disparate collection of solutions to track their assets. Nobody sees the full picture, and there’s no clear responsibility when something falls between the cracks. But attackers don’t care who owns the system – they care that it’s exposed.

 

Automation, integration and assurance

The answer to getting on top of asset management isn’t more frequent audits or tighter manual processes. It’s about shifting the model entirely from reactive to continuous, and from fragmented to integrated.

 

Managing live assets and decommissioning old ones alike starts with real-time, multi-source discovery. Relying on a single tool or data source can lead to blind spots if agents malfunction or go offline. Instead, organisations should aggregate insight from across their environment – directories, endpoint managers, cloud platforms and more, to create a live, accurate view of what’s actually connected. If a device is communicating but doesn’t appear in your asset register, that’s a red flag.

 

Automation is also critical here. Manually keeping track of the entire inventory is intensely resource-heavy and prone to human error. Instead, IT and security teams should be able to configure automatic alerts when an asset becomes inactive or a machine falls out of policy, triggering a decommissioning workflow.

 

Just as importantly, IT and security teams need to work from the same source of truth. Fragmented oversight invites mistakes. With a unified view, organisations can move from patching gaps after the fact to proactively removing them before they’re exploited.

 

Decommissioning as a frontline defence

Secure decommissioning isn’t a housekeeping task – it’s a frontline defence. The NCSC’s guidance reinforces what many security teams already know: unmanaged assets are among the most dangerous risks in any environment.

 

Every device, every system, every connection must be seen, understood and accounted for. Without full visibility and a clear, automated decommissioning process, organisations are operating on assumptions – and assumptions invite breaches.

 

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Jon Abbott is CEO at ThreatAware

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and TiSanti