Old software puts your company at risk
Saving money could ultimately cost you more in data corruption or theft
ACCOUNTING software based on technology that was discontinued by Microsoft a decade ago is still available on shop shelves and it’s compromising small businesses that handle sensitive company data.
Stephen Corringan, managing director of Palladium business solutions, an accounting software company, said such dated tech puts companies’ information at risk of data corruption and theft. Corringan said an example of this would be the use of Visual Basic (a computer programming language), which Microsoft discontinued in March 2005.
Companies that don’t abide by the Protection of Personal Information Act with regard to the protection of customers should be investigated, he said.
He told of a recent incid- ent involving Sage Pastel’s Pastel Partner product range, which was found to have a security flaw that could expose user data to unscrupulous outsiders.
The company acknowledged the vulnerability, but said the risk was small, limited to specific versions of the software, and said they would take steps to reduce the risk.
Research and development director at Sage, Philip Meyer, acknowledged that Sage Pastel Partner uses Visual Basic, but said that most software vendors don’t disclose the technology they use to write software, nor do customers usually ask for this information.
“What really matters is that the software runs on the latest devices, browsers and operating systems, and that it complies with relevant laws such as the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI).”
Meyer said Microsoft still ships the Visual Basic runtime file required to maintain the code and is likely to do so for many years, given the number of software products around the world running on the technology.
Asked whether Sage advise clients at time of sale that the technology used in their products is dated, Meyer said they do. “We comply with the CPA and POPI in terms of our licence agreements and warranties.”
Eric Morris, Gauteng branch manager at Omni accounts, a financial and management accounting software company, said he could not name off-hand any company that uses Visual Basic, but Omni accounts use the latest version of Delphi, a different programming language.
He said that companies using dated technology should advise their clients that the technology has been discontinued.
“Customers need to be aware that they are using software which is no longer supported by Microsoft. That being said, there are many businesses out there which still use discontinued Microsoft products such as Windows XP,” he said. Morris said that dated technology can also put customers at risk from viruses and malware.
“Customers are at risk of data theft or fraudulent editing or manipulation of data – by external agents or possibly even their own employees. Customers may also find that the software may not run on later Microsoft operating systems, so existing hardware failure becomes a real threat to the continued use of the software using the dated technology.”
Morris explained that customers looking for new accounting software should be looking for a package that satisfies the operational requirements of the business, and not only the accountant or bookkeeper.
“The basic principles of accounting are the same, regardless what package is ultimately used, yet, packages differ greatly in terms of which of the operational requirements they can satisfy at their price point,” he said.
Nicolaas van Wyk, chief executive of the South African Institute for Business Accounting, said that the accounting profession relies on quality software and that there should always be mechanisms to ensure that there is no corruption in data.
“Clients trust accountants to produce accurate information. We trust software companies because they are big brands who’ve invested millions in quality and security on their products.
“But if there’s any questionmark over the integrity of a type of software, an investigation should be done,” he said.
“Though we have not had any official complaint from our members, in light of the alleged flaws in accounting software, we will advice our members to align themselves with software that can be trusted,” said Van Wyk.
“Businesses have suffered financial loss through data corruption, and accountants and IT managers over the years have lost their jobs through data corruption that wasn’t their fault,” Corringan said.