Why firewalls and VPN are bad for security

Update that VPN

Reader, bad habits are hard to break. And when it comes to cybersecurity, outdated practices are worse than useless — they can be dangerous. Recently, CSO wrote about seven obsolete security practices that should be terminated immediately. It’s critical reading and was seen as such by our CISO readers.  

One habit attracted particular attention: relying on legacy VPN technologies. Doing so presents a significant risk, since they don’t always receive regular updates and patches, potentially exposing an organization to cyberthreats. Our readers wanted to know more about it.  

Smart Answers tells us that these technologies, along with legacy web servers, are common entry points for attackers, particularly when they’re not properly patched or run outdated firmware. Don’t rely on them. 

Find out: Why do firewalls and VPNs increase organizational breach exposure? 

How ChatGPT will change the way we work

One of our biggest stories of the past few weeks was from Computerworld. It focused on how OpenAI is eyeing the launch of its own productivity suite with generative AI built in, directly attacking Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar Microsoft 365 office suite business.  

We reported that the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI has deteriorated to the point that the companies are now mulling using “nuclear options” against one another — actions that could seriously damage both companies.  

So, what would an OpenAI-built version of Office look like? Smart Answers was asked — and came up with some answers that, from all known sources, suggest a ChatGPT productivity suite would not be that much different from Office as it is today (with potentially big difference: simplified user interfaces powered by generative AI). 

Find out: How could OpenAI’s planned productivity suite change how I create documents? 

Why cloud can’t handle agentic AI

Everyone wants to believe that AI can transform their organizations, and consultants will cheerfully tell IT and business leaders that they know exactly how they can do it. So, it’s unsurprising that readers of CIO.com were keen to read our recent article on how global consulting firm Accenture has built an AI-powered integration platform to support IT operations. 

Accenture created the Accenture Advanced Technology Agent (AATA), an agentic AI-powered integration platform that sits between the company’s human workforce and its technology platforms (earning the company a 2025 CIO 100 Award in IT Excellence). 

Diving deeper, readers of this case study wanted to understand why traditional cloud tools can’t be relied on to manage agentic AI. Calling on generations of human reporting, Smart Answers notes that this insufficiency stems from the unique demands of agentic AI, which include autonomous decision-making, complex goal management, and the need for high levels of customization and optimization.  

Unlike traditional automation, agentic AI systems operate autonomously, initiating tasks and making decisions without continuous human oversight. Consequently, enterprises need to consider moving away from public cloud solutions because of these specific requirements. 

Find out: Why are traditional cloud tools insufficient for agentic AI management? 

About Smart Answers 

Smart Answers is an AI-based chatbot tool designed to help you discover content, answer questions, and go deep on the topics that matter to you. Each week we send you the three most popular questions asked by our readers, and the answers Smart Answers provides. 

Developed in partnership with Miso.ai, Smart Answers draws only on editorial content from our network of trusted media brands—CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World—and was trained on questions that a savvy enterprise IT audience would ask. The result is a fast, efficient way for you to get more value from our content.