Far too often, cybersecurity and sustainability are treated as distinct goals. But the reality is that the two share a common enemy: inefficiency. Both wasted energy and unpatched systems drive up costs and emissions. They also expose your organization to cyberattacks. The good news is that with the right approach, you don’t have to choose between keeping your IT either green or secure. Now, you can and should align both to reduce your environmental footprint and security risk. Here’s how:
The Energy Cost of Idle Infrastructure
Many companies keep unused or underutilized servers running around the clock. You might have over-provisioned virtual machines. Perhaps you’re dealing with legacy systems your entire team is hesitant to touch. Or you could just have disaster recovery environments sitting idle. In any event, these systems silently drain energy and increase your attack surface. This makes it an easy target and a hidden source of emissions.
A much better approach is to perform regular audits on your infrastructure for energy usage and efficiency. You can retire or consolidate underutilized assets and move to demand-based scaling in the cloud. Also, make sure to decommission any environments not in use. Finally, you can automate your systems to ensure these actions are tied to both green and security IT policies. For example, shut down a test environment after 12 hours. You’ll improve both energy efficiency and the hygiene of your system.
Unpatched Systems: A Vulnerability and Energy Drain
One aspect of security that’s often overlooked is patch management. Despite the fact that it’s critical, IT teams still manage to allow unpatched systems to endure. These systems tend to consume more energy because of inefficient software, outdated hardware, and increased cooling needs. Sadly, the reason many IT teams delay patching is out of a fear of downtime or potential compatibility issues. So both security and sustainability goals go unmet.
Companies must treat patching as a joint priority for IT sustainability and risk management. You can automate patches wherever possible with tools that will validate updates across your workloads. Then, you should schedule patch cycles during off-peak hours to minimize disruption. Finally, use endpoint analytics to figure out which systems are out-of-date and underperforming. When you embed patch management into green IT audits, you can shrink both your carbon footprint and your threat surface.
Overlooked Devices in the IT Ecosystem
Most corporate environments are now overloaded with Internet of Things (IoT) devices, printers, and even smart lighting systems. Typically, manufacturers and developers will ship these devices with default credentials. Then, your company likely never updates the devices, and you leave them on around the clock, even if they’re not needed. The end result is that they become easy entry points for attackers while unnecessarily consuming energy.
You can tackle this dual challenge by taking inventory of all of your connected devices, not just your traditional endpoints. Implement network segmentation to isolate any vulnerable or low-trust devices, and deploy security agents to assess the status and idle time of your firmware. Finally, make sure to automate usage policies like setting printers to sleep mode after 15 minutes. These types of controls will limit unauthorized use and power usage as well as reduce exploitable endpoints.
Inefficient Data Centers and Physical Security Risks
Legacy data centers are well-known for consuming high levels of energy. But tech leaders rarely discuss just how physical security lapses in these environments also put data at risk. Servers stored in unprotected or shared spaces can be physically tampered with. Plus, energy-hungry cooling systems may be compensating for poor airflow, outdated layouts, or a lack of thermal monitoring.
You can fix this situation through modernizing and converging your systems. Transition workloads to cloud or colocation facilities with strong controls that are both physical and environmental. If you’re dealing with on-premise data centers, you should implement hot/cold aisle containment and upgrade to energy-efficient cooling systems. Also, track temperature and motion with smart sensors that offer security alerts if a device has been tampered with.
Siloed Teams Delay Progress on Both Fronts
Typically, sustainability teams and cybersecurity teams operate in isolation. Sustainability professionals will focus on emissions and reporting. And security teams will zero in on threats and compliance. This disconnect leads to missed opportunities to collaborate. Your teams could be discussing initiatives that improve the outcomes for both, like server consolidation, cloud migration, or device lifecycle management.
For this reason, it’s critical you break down these silos. Create cross-functional leadership with representatives from IT, security, facilities, and sustainability. Then, align your KPIs so that your teams share responsibility for energy efficiency and security posture. You could, for example, incentivize teams to reduce vulnerabilities and decommission unused systems. With reporting tools, you can visualize the environmental impact and risk exposure side-by-side.
Smarter IT is Greener and Safer
In the end, security and sustainability are not separate challenges. They’re rooted in the same foundational principle of operational efficiency. Every unpatched server, idle virtual machine, or unsecured smart device both wastes energy and invites risk. When you align your green IT goals with your security practices, you can do far more than simply reduce emissions. You can reduce your risk profile, cut costs, and create a more resilient digital environment.
