Many software developers tend to see patch management as another tedious security task that gets in the way of the development process. However, considering Forresters’s recent State of Application Security Report for 2020 predicted that application vulnerabilities will continue to be the most common external attack method, patch management is a critical part of the vulnerability management process that organizations can’t afford to neglect.

Patching systems is not a new problem; this is something that organizations are very familiar with. Organizations have tried solving this issue in various ways by cobbling together multiple tools, processes, different teams, and more. Organizations are constantly trying to stay secure and keep their systems up to date, but patch management isn’t a simple process. In fact, applying the patch itself is just one part of the overall workflow, which involves multiple teams and various steps.

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Patch management is the process of analyzing the systems within your network for missing updates. This process shines a spotlight on the vulnerable systems within your network, allowing you to apply the necessary patches to those systems. This ensures that any vulnerabilities or bugs present in the software gets fixed.

Microsoft has partnered up with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create a guide designed to make enterprise patch management simpler. Microsoft originally worked with partners from the Center for Internet Security (CIS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), as well as customers.

New research from Forescout found that healthcare organizations are increasingly at risk from legacy platforms, device complexity, and the use of frequently exploited protocols. Forescout analyzed 75 healthcare deployments running over 1.5 million devices across 10,000 VLANs (virtual local area networks).

Vulnerability management and patch management are not products. They are processes, and the products are tools used to enable the process. You cannot buy a hammer, nails and wood and expect them to just become a house, but you can go through the process of building the house or hire someone to do it for you as a service.

A few weeks ago, I woke up one morning to discover that Android had 34 software updates waiting for me. This was followed by my laptop wanting to reboot after installing the latest patches from Microsoft; my tablet needing a reboot after its latest firmware update; and my server screaming for me to put “yum” into action to install the latest patches available from Red Hat – all before 10:00 am in the morning!