Cyberattacks concern even the best Tech Companies. Despite ever-evolving cybersecurity tech, data breaches are the talk of the town all the time. It dominates the world of tech-related news and stirs the operation of an affected business. As the concern of cyberattacks grows, cybersecurity professionals keep dwelling on how your business should spend more on cybersecurity. Although an internet-based company needs to spend on cybersecurity, sometimes it needs to be more compliant with its security management and put the business at risk of overspending.
Such times require you to take a step back and see if your fundamentals are correct. Here, fundamentals mean the implementation of security patches. Due to cybersecurity’s complex and noisy world, basic security management steps like implementing patches should be noticed. Due to such basic mistakes in vulnerability management, internet-based companies face the wrath of cyberattacks. In this blog, we will learn “What Is Patch Management”, its significance and 4 Best Practices Of Patch Management To Protect Your Business From Cyber Security Threats.
What is Patch Management in Cybersecurity?
Patch management updates computer software, drivers, and firmware installed on your computer. The process includes downloading, testing, and installing the patches on already installed files on a computer. In layman, the patch is a change in codes. Instead of releasing entirely new software, software companies release a patch to ensure the old patch/software isn’t prone to viruses or vulnerabilities.
Be it your computer or a computer-based device, you must install a patch to keep your computer software updated and secured. If you ignore patch management of software, your software becomes prone to corruption and can cause other cybersecurity threats. Furthermore, these patches also fix the issues that the software’s older version may have.
Importance of Patch Management in Cybersecurity:
No matter how much you spend on cybersecurity or how efficient your business operations are, poor patch management can disrupt your company’s cybersecurity and reduce employee productivity. Below, we have mentioned some of the most significant aspects of Patch Management of Software and how it plays a vital role in cybersecurity.
- Less Chance of Getting Your Computers Hacked:
When you keep your software up-to-date and install patches at the right time, you ensure your computer is free from the risk of being hacked. As hackers mostly attack the most vulnerable aspect of your computer, effective vulnerability management of your organization’s desktops can reduce the risk of hacking.
- Enhances Employees Productivity:
Instead of releasing a new version, most software companies tend to release security patches and productivity patches for their software. As these patches are meant to keep the software updated and running, the productivity of your employees would increase as the response time of the software will be good.
- Increases the Lifespan of Your Computing Devices:
When you update your computer or computing devices and install patches on time, the computer process might last longer without slowing down. This way, you can save some bucks as you don’t constantly worry about repair and OS installation.
- Ensures Compliance Adherence:
Every organisation has to follow some basic protocols when it comes to patching. These protocols are designed by regulatory bodies and track the activity of the organisation’s computer. Failing to meet the set compliance standards, you may have to pay a monetary penalty. To avoid it, you must install patches on time, as positive patch management reciprocates to compliance adherence.
4 Best Practices for Patch Management:
There are many experts’ opinions on how to do patch management of software, but it all boils down to 4 fundamental practices. They are –
- Install and Apply Patches on Time:
The first and foremost step for good vulnerability management is to monitor when your software patches are released. Most software companies release patches on a fixed date, but there are many instances where they remove the patch without any prior information. Due to such cases, people must often remember to apply patches and risk software security.
That’s why you need to apply the patch as soon as you know about the released patch. When you don’t have an eye on patch release, it slips away, and it becomes easier for hackers to challenge security management and eventually hack the system.
2. Proper Configuration and Application:
Even though applying a patch is pretty easy, people often screw up the process by making some mistakes. Such instances are severe as they can affect your patch and put your computer and software at risk. Once you apply the patch, you must reboot your system for your patch to work. To ensure that the applied patch works, you should always test your patch with a pen test. By doing so, you can ensure that your computer isn’t at risk of any security breach due to older version vulnerability.
3. Take Accountability for Patch Management:
In an organization, employees are often busy, and they tend to ignore if there’s any patch update or not. Or Sometimes, the alert is turned off, and nobody gets to know about anything. That’s why you should be more provocative about patch management, as it’s a serious affair, and you will like to get all updates for a longer duration.
Furthermore, it would be best to raise awareness of patch and security management among your employees, as even the most fundamental things aren’t common among people. Remind them over the mail or ask your IT guy to manually install a patch in every workstation to ensure that no computer can become the host of a cyber attack.
4. Get Rid of Outdated Machines:
There are many instances in which people keep using old devices even though they stop getting patch updates for the software that runs on them. You sure want to avoid that happening, as outdated workstations are the most common host of cyberattacks, as they don’t get any security updates. Make sure your workplace has no obsolete computers or, if there are any, don’t you ever connect them to the internet for any use.
Automate Patching with Patch Management Software:
By reading this blog, you must think that patch management or security management is a piece of the cake; all it takes is a little effort to monitor software security. And that’s where everything goes south. Patch management may sound easy, but it does have its cons. It takes a lot of time to check and apply patches of each software on every computer in an organisation. Nevertheless, it also demands a lot of communication with your employees for proper vulnerability management.
However, you can automate the patch management process with application managers of different software. These patch management software install, test, and apply patches independently with little human intervention. By using Patch Management Software, you can save a lot of time and effort and ensure that your business remains free from any cybersecurity threat.
