- CIOsurge
- Posts
- 🚨 Microsoft patches three actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities
🚨 Microsoft patches three actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities
Microsoft Patches Critical Hyper-V Flaws, Private Cloud Resurgence, New CIOs at Shake Shack and CoreWeave
Zack Tembi
January 17, 2025
Powered by Single Fin
Welcome to this week’s edition of CIOsurge!
This week:
Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday revealed critical vulnerabilities in Hyper-V, highlighting the urgency of proactive patch management in today’s complex IT environments.
Private cloud solutions are experiencing a resurgence as enterprises seek to balance AI demands with cost efficiency and security.
Shake Shack and CoreWeave appoint new CIOs to spearhead innovation and drive digital transformation.
Let’s make this week a game-changer.
Stay sharp. Stay ahead.
🚨 Microsoft patches three actively exploited zero-day vulnerabilities
Microsoft’s January 2025 Patch Tuesday addressed 161 security flaws, including three zero-day vulnerabilities in Windows Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration VSP (CVE-2025-21333, CVE-2025-21334, CVE-2025-21335). These privilege escalation flaws allow attackers to gain SYSTEM privileges and are actively exploited, necessitating prompt action. CISA mandates federal agencies to patch by February 4, 2025.
The sheer number of vulnerabilities in this update—161 in total—reminds us of the complexity of today’s IT environments. The actively exploited Hyper-V vulnerabilities are particularly alarming, as they target critical virtualization components, which are often the backbone of modern infrastructure.
For IT professionals, this underscores the importance of prioritizing updates, especially for systems supporting virtualization workloads. These flaws represent a high-risk vector for attackers to escalate privileges and compromise sensitive systems, making it critical to implement patches immediately to maintain system integrity and minimize exposure.
- Zack Tembi
🚀 Private cloud resurgence amid AI and cost concerns
The rise of generative AI and escalating public cloud costs are driving renewed interest in private cloud solutions. CIOs are reassessing hybrid strategies as private clouds become more competitive with public counterparts, especially for sensitive workloads requiring sovereignty and security. Broadcom, Dell, and HPE lead innovations, as enterprises seek cost-effective, scalable infrastructure.
Private cloud adoption is accelerating as enterprises balance cost, security, and scalability concerns. For IT professionals, this trend underscores the importance of evaluating hybrid strategies tailored to AI workloads and sensitive data. As Gartner highlights, miscalculating AI costs in the public cloud can have massive implications.
The shift also signals a pivotal moment to reassess infrastructure investments. Private cloud solutions now rival public cloud capabilities, with offerings like Dell’s and HPE’s delivering on-demand services without compromising security. This is a call to action for IT leaders to scrutinize their cloud strategies and explore tailored hybrid approaches to meet evolving enterprise needs.
- Zack Tembi
💬 Zack's Take
The Fear of Breaking Things
One common hurdle CIOs face is the fear of disrupting existing systems when implementing optimizations. This concern is especially prevalent in organizations that have spent years building complex applications or analytics engines. Teams worry that changes to pipelines, permissions, or configurations could break critical dashboards or affect customer-facing performance.
This fear often leads to stagnation, where teams avoid making necessary updates and improvements. To overcome this, CIOs should focus on creating robust testing environments and automation scripts to validate changes before implementation. Working with trusted partners who bring domain expertise can also help ensure smoother transitions.
Ultimately, addressing the fear of breaking things requires a shift in mindset. Rather than avoiding updates, organizations should embrace iterative improvements and build confidence in their ability to adapt without disruption. Small, incremental changes backed by strong testing practices can ensure systems remain functional while improving performance and efficiency.
🗞️ At A Glance
💡 CIO Spotlights
Justin Mennen joins Shake Shack as Chief Information and Technology Officer
Justin Mennen will oversee all technology strategies and systems for Shake Shack starting January 13, 2025.
He aims to enhance digital capabilities, streamline operations, and improve the guest experience through innovation.
Mennen brings extensive expertise in technology strategy and large-scale systems from roles at Rite Aid, Estée Lauder, and Dell.
CoreWeave welcomes Sandy Venugopal as CIO to lead IT strategy
Sandy Venugopal, with leadership experience at SentinelOne and Uber, joins CoreWeave as CIO to drive IT and digital transformation strategies.
At SentinelOne, she enhanced productivity and decision-making through innovative data and IT infrastructure.
Venugopal aims to support CoreWeave's hyper-growth and advance its mission as an AI infrastructure leader.