Security Doesn't Stop At (Product) Retirement

Software products, similar to vehicles, old houses, and technologies, eventually reach the point where the cost of rebuilding and refactoring becomes greater than the cost of rewriting and releasing under a newer platform, language, or architecture. During these sunset phases of a product, development is often ramped down, resources are reduced, systems are terminated, and focus is given to the new products, betas, and rollout efforts. The risk of neglect towards critical “life support systems” at these stages is high, particularly in the security space.