As more companies neglect their patch management, more consumers become vulnerable to hackers. These cyberattacks continue to cost millions to repair, and experts expect the annual cost of cybersecurity breaches to climb into the trillions in the coming years.
Service providers should work proactively with their customers to help them with risk management and cybersecurity to create a fool-proof enterprise security strategy.
Enterprise security strategies should include patch management best practices. These fixes and updates should protect data assets and customer financial information and help businesses stay compliant with industry standards. Here are seven leak-proof patch management best practices that your team should be implementing.
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Develop a patch-management policy
Best practices involve developing a patch-management policy for your business. The process should involve all employees who work with the software and app so they know what their responsibilities are. Enterprises should work with their managed service providers to better understand how to enact their policies best.
The patch-management policy could include automation to take pressure off of employees and better protect customer data. Companies can work with their managed service providers to develop automated solutions to complex problems like patch management.
For example, services like TuxCare patch management include coding fixes for their computer systems. Most patches involve security issues, so their importance consists in protecting customer data and financial information.
Without patch management, businesses can have costly data breaches putting themselves and their customers at risk. The automation of security patch processes is a boon for busy consumers and security-conscious industry leaders alike.
Speed up patch deployment
On average, companies often wait three months or more to activate their patches. Imagine how many hackers can access your sensitive data with such an extended timeline, and you’ll understand why time is of the essence. Hackers could come and go, stealing information from customers one day and returning for more as you acquire new clients and add to your data stockpile.
Businesses that do not update their systems with the newest patches create unsafe conditions for employees and customers. Deploying patches in a timely fashion protects customers and employees from unexpected cyberattacks.
Accurately inventory your systems
Many companies have several IT management systems that they’ve acquired over the years. Because of this variability, IT teams often lose track of what they have and what needs patching. By taking accurate system inventory, businesses can better track what needs patching and what doesn’t.
With a routine inventory of digital systems, companies can eventually eliminate the systems they no longer need.
Consolidate your systems for fewer patches and less downtime
As businesses learn more about their architectures, they can take control of them by downsizing and consolidating. Budget-savvy enterprises save money and better protect their customers and employees by reducing their systems and patching them when notified. This efficiency creates less downtime while maintaining safer conditions.
Having fewer systems reduces overhead both financially and administratively. Frequently, businesses have redundant systems, and looking for ways to consolidate helps improve productivity as employees have better systems that help them work efficiently.
Monitor and react to patch notifications
Often, patch notifications arrive, and employees are too busy to do anything other than clicking on the button that saves the patch for later. Then, workers neglect the patch, and their systems become endangered. Rather than ignoring patches, IT employees should have a procedure for monitoring and reacting to patch notifications.
No one should neglect patch notifications, as they can lead to costly and dangerous data breaches. While many patches require time to load and update, the downtime is much less expensive than any costs associated with data breaches.
The problem with some patches is where they originate. As systems vendors often use third-party products, enterprise IT employees might not recognize the origin of the patch. If employees can turn to an asset inventory, they can quickly determine if the third-party patch is something they have on-site.
Test patches in restricted sandboxes
Before activating patch updates in the real world, companies should test out the patches in restricted environments like internal sandboxes. Employees from different departments should play in the sandbox to see how the patches affect their systems, especially regarding customer data.
If the patches create issues, IT employees should work with the managed service providers to fix the problem.
Have a restoration plan
Unfortunately, some patches do not work as expected, and they can slow a system and reduce productivity. To keep systems functioning, companies should develop a restoration or rollback plan.
IT professionals need to know how to remove patches and return the system to its prior version. Not all patch tools have restoration options, so businesses should work closely with their managed service providers to develop a way to restore systems to their original functionality.
Before you go
The best practices for patch management should include businesses and managed service providers working together to keep businesses functioning at their peak. Since patches update the customer software, the systems need to work intuitively.