In 2017, we saw one of the largest data breaches in history. The personal data of 147 million people was stolen from Equifax. The breach was possible because Equifax didn’t update their software. The vulnerability exploited by the hackers had a patch available months before the attack happened.
Most vulnerabilities are discovered after they are exploited. Because of this, patching systems can feel like fixing a hole in the wall after a monster has already rampaged through your network. However, software companies are getting much better at finding vulnerabilities before the bad guys do. Gartner has predicted that by 2020, 99% of all vulnerabilities that cause security incidents will be known long before any incident takes place. This means that holes in your organization’s cybersecurity can be plugged with a single update before anything happens.
The main problem with that is the gargantuan task and time commitment involved with patching. IT professionals already spend most of their day tending to normal network and endpoint management tasks, leaving not much time for patch management. Meanwhile, hackers only have to find vulnerabilities and often use automation to do so.
It’s about time IT evened the playing field. Patch automation frees up time for IT and allows them to focus on revenue-driving tasks. By employing tools like unified endpoint management (UEM) solutions, IT management can streamline automation. This frees up time for planning and optimizing by decreasing the amount of time used to manually patch up vulnerabilities.
Though, there are a few road bumps from making patch automation as simple as turning a key. There are three main categories of applications being used by companies; Microsoft Windows and related apps, common third-party apps such as Java or Flash, and department specific apps for finance, engineering, marketing, and other areas. The first two categories are easy to automate, while the third is a lot trickier. This creates a balancing act that requires careful attention from an experienced IT manager. Otherwise, a patchwork monster is created, and Mary Shelley has taught us how that can cause a slew of other problems.
Another solution is to contract a managed services organization, like CHR, to remotely manage your organization’s patches and ensure the automation is working as intended. A managed services business can employ 24x7 management and monitoring to keep an eye on your system and network, while remotely sending in patches as they become available.
