"Microsoft has done a really good job of battening down most of the really big problem areas in Office 2003 a long time ago....Nevertheless, withdrawal of support will usher in an era of 'infinite zero-day' attacks [just as has been predicted for Windows XP."
The other side of this problem will be the businesses' reluctance (or inability) to change to a newer and supported version of Office or to a completely different offering such as Google Docs. The reasons against such a change stem from familiarity with Office 2003, the high cost of replacement, and the fact that Office 2003 is 'good software'. When it comes to Google Docs, the main issue for businesses is that Microsoft's offerings are much more enterprise-friendly.
Is there another solution? According to a Microsoft spokewoman:
"We encourage customers to upgrade to Windows 8 and Office 365 as Windows XP and Office 2003 will reach end of support in April 2014....With Windows 8 and Office 365, customers will gain immediate benefits that allow them to work anytime, anywhere on the device of their choice to get their work done."
While some companies may choose to go with one of the aforementioned solutions, the reality is that many businesses will 'bite the bullet' and continue to use Office 2003 as long as they can, which will naturally leave them susceptible to security risks. But while "Patch Tuesdays" will no longer be there to address the vulnerabilites, businesses can still rely on great internet security to protect them from those 'infinite zero-day attacks' and other potential Office 2003 vulnerabilities that hackers cannot wait to exploit.
(Source: PC World)
