What is Patch Management?

Patch management is the practice of deploying vendor-issued updates to fix security flaws and improve the performance of software and devices. Patch management is sometimes regarded as part of vulnerability management.

Patch management is the process of balancing cybersecurity with company operations. Hackers can use flaws in a company’s IT system to launch cyberattacks and spread malware. To address these vulnerabilities, vendors issue “patches” or upgrades. However, the patching procedure can potentially disrupt workflows and cause corporate downtime. Patch management tries to reduce downtime by simplifying patch deployment.

Why Does Patch Management Matter?

Patch management establishes a coordinated approach for installing new fixes on IT assets. These fixes can increase security, performance, and productivity.

1. Security Update: Security patches address specific security threats, usually by fixing a single vulnerability. Hackers frequently target unpatched assets; failing to install security updates may expose an organisation to security breaches. For example, the 2017 WannaCry ransomware propagated through a Microsoft Windows vulnerability for which a fix was released. Cybercriminals attacked networks where administrators failed to implement the patch, infecting over 200,000 PCs in 150 countries.
2. Feature Updates: Some patches include new features for apps and devices. These updates may improve asset performance and user productivity.
3. Bug Fixes: Bug patches address minor faults with hardware or software. These flaws often do not pose a security risk, but they impact asset performance.
4. Minimising Downtime: Most businesses find downloading and installing every patch for each asset as soon as it becomes available impractical. This is because patching involves downtime. To apply patches, users must stop working, log out, and reboot essential systems. A systematic patch management methodology enables businesses to prioritise crucial upgrades. The organisation may reap the benefits of these updates while minimising disturbance to staff processes.
5. Regulatory Compliance: Companies must follow specific cybersecurity procedures under rules such as the HIPPA, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and the General Data Protection Regulation. Patch management can assist firms in ensuring that essential systems comply with these standards.

The Patch Management Cycle

Most businesses view patch management as a continual process. This is because suppliers routinely provide new patches. Furthermore, a company’s patching requirements may shift as its IT environment evolves.

Companies create explicit patch management policies to specify the best practices administrators and end users should adhere to throughout the lifecycle.

The steps of the patch management cycle are:

1. Asset Management: To maintain track of IT resources, IT and security teams compile inventories of network assets such as third-party applications, operating systems, mobile devices, and remote and on-premise endpoints. IT departments may also specify the hardware and software versions that employees can utilise. Asset standardisation can help ease patching by minimising the number of asset types on the network. Standardisation can help employees avoid using hazardous, old, or incompatible apps and devices.
2. Patch Monitoring: Once IT and security groups have a complete asset inventory, they can monitor for available patches, track patch status, and identify missing patches.
3. Patch Prioritisation: Some patches are more significant than others, particularly security patches. IT and security teams employ tools such as threat intelligence feeds to identify the most critical vulnerabilities in their systems. Patches for these vulnerabilities take priority over less critical updates. Prioritisation is one of the primary ways patch management strategies seek to reduce downtime. By deploying essential updates first, IT and security teams can safeguard the network while reducing the time resources are offline for patching.
4. Patch Testing: New patches can occasionally cause issues, break integrations, or fail to resolve the vulnerabilities they are intended to fix. Hackers can even hijack fixes in some situations. IT and security teams hope to uncover and address these issues before they spread throughout the network by evaluating patches before they are installed.
5. Patch Deployment: This refers to when and how patches are distributed. Patching windows are typically scheduled when few or no personnel are working. Patching timelines may be influenced by vendor patch releases as well. IT and security teams may apply patches to groups of assets rather than the entire network at once. That way, some staff can keep working while others log off to patch. Patching in groups also allows us one last chance to uncover problems before they spread throughout the network. Patch deployment may also include procedures to monitor assets after patching and roll back any changes that cause unexpected difficulties.
6. Patch Documentation: To ensure patch compliance, IT and security teams document the patching process, including test results, deployment results, and any assets that require further patching. This paperwork keeps the asset inventory current and can be used to establish compliance with cybersecurity rules during an audit.

How can iZOOlogic help my Company or Organisation?

Find out how iZOOlogic can provide proper patch management through our Security Policy Enforcement solutions.

To find out more about how iZOOlogic can help protect your company’s cyber security, schedule a demo.