Cybercrimes are very common in businesses. Therefore, it is very often for enterprises to face threats from cybercriminals. But to avoid this situation, some organizations face challenges in patching and fixing vulnerabilities to protect themselves from all dangers. But at last, they end up with the risk of data breaches, ransomware attacks and a host of resultant operational and possible legal consequences. The IT department must focus on the risks and streamline the patch management process. Best practices of patch management helps to avoid threats and fraud. But it is not easy to manage thousands of devices in the company. So, automated patch management solutions could be constructive in this situation.
According to a study by forbes.com, Cyberattacks and data breaches are omnipresent. By 2025, global cybercrime costs are expected to reach $10.5 trillion. So shouldn’t you be on top of your patching game when the stakes are so high?
What Is Patch Management?
Patch management is the most common way of conveying and applying patches to software. This consists of a working system (OS), system software, browser and applications running on your servers, laptops and PCs. Software sellers issue patches for two important reasons: to fix functional bugs and remediate security vulnerabilities that the hackers could destroy. There are a few various types of patch releases, including hot patches, security patches and service packs.
Few Best Practices for Patch Management You Should Follow
Take Inventory of Systems
A critical best practice of patch management that you ought to carry out with patchy management is to begin by reviewing your system.
You need to find out what software and tool you’re utilizing and know precisely how your current circumstance presently stands. Next, you should document your system and figure out which devices are operating systems, variants, and third-party applications are now being utilized.
Determine Risk and Vulnerability
Another main thing in patching best practices that should be taken into consideration is to observe the levels of your systems and assign their priorities.
Many things can be taken into account while observing the risk levels of your company’s systems. For example, do some factors consist of how easy it is to exploit the vulnerability? How long a system has been left unpatched and whether the system accesses the internet or not. You should also run the best patch management practices to scan and detect the vulnerabilities.
Consolidate Software
It can expand your risk if you utilize many versions of similar software across various systems. So, it’s ideal for consolidating software across your systems however much you can.
You, most importantly, ought to guarantee that you’re not utilizing different versions of software that carry out similar functions. Staying in one place of software for a particular object is excellent.
Furthermore, you should likewise check that the renditions of these software versions are kept equivalent well.
Create a Patch Management Policy
Another best practice is to ensure that you have a straight patch management policy that you’ll follow dedicatedly.
A patch management policy should be all about what should be fixed and when and on what occasions. If a few systems need to be fixed more frequently than others, you’ll need to take note of this in your patch management policy.
You may need to consider how broad a patch management process will be for every system. You need to decide if non-mandatory updates should be downloaded, for instance.
You’ll likewise need to consider when the patches will be downloaded to limit disturbances and ensure that systems can be utilized as required.
Track Patch Availability
One more best practice to recollect regarding patch management is to ensure that you’re monitoring patches that are delivered. Again, it would be best to keep steady over any necessary patches for your systems.
Whenever you take inventory of every working system and third-party software you’re utilizing, you want to have an arrangement for keeping steady over which security updates will be required. Of course, every software vendor will have a specific technique to impart this data, so be sure that you figure out what this strategy is and keep steady over it.
Bottom Line
Patch management is one of the essential parts of every vulnerability management program. However, having a consistent approach to patch management best practices helps you manage and automate all of your vulnerability tasks.
If you are looking to create an efficient and effective patch management solution, you need to think carefully about the patch management best practices. Make sure to consider all of the information above if you want to ensure that you’re correctly managing patches and keeping your organization as secure as possible.
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