- News & Resources: Listings >
- Blog
- Brand and Network Considerations When Adopting AI Corporately
- Integrating XDR, SIEM, and SOAR
- 3-2-1 –Go? Not so quick, this time.
- 5 Things a CISO Shoud Know
- 10-Step Patch Management Checklist
- Penetration Testing vs. Breach Attack Simulation
- Current big cyber breaches and impact on businesses
- Smart Infrastructure Gets Lit Up!
- Securing Industrial IoT: The Missing Puzzle Piece
- 7 Common Cybersecurity Mistakes Made by SMBs
- The Future of Physical Security: Cloud-Based Systems
- Autonomous and Sensor Technology Use Surging
- 2024 Facilities Trends Will Require Facilities and IT Teams to Work in Tandem
- NGFW vs. WAF. What’s the Right Firewall for You?
- Chris Hadfield’s Words To Live By
- Industrial Revolution 4.0 + IIoT
- Digital Fluency Drives Innovation
- Your Cloud Needs Protecting, Too
- Your building alarm systems could become obsolete. In 2024!
- Zero Trust 2.0: Zero Trust Data Resilience (ZTDR)
- We just got, or got used to, Wi-Fi 6. What is Wi-Fi 7?
- What Does the Board Need to Know? Business Metrics that CISOs Should Share – 4th and Last in a Four-Part Series
- Why 2024 is the Year for AI Networking
- International Women’s Day is Tomorrow – Great Time to Think About…
- Data-Centric Security Step One: Classifying Your Data
- The Network – Unsung Hero of Super Bowl LVIII
- What Does the Board Need to Know? Business Metrics that CISOs Should Share – Third in a Four-Part Series
- Boosting IT Team Performance by Fostering Intuition, Curiosity and Creativity
- Breach Remediation Costs Can Wipeout Bottom Line and Business
- Hoodied Hackers Now Favour Hugo Boss
- What Do You Need to Tell the Board? Business Metrics that CISOs Should Share – Second in a Four-Part Series
- How to Get People to Re-Engage After the Holidays
- What Does the Board Need to Know? Business Metrics that CISOs Should Share – First in a Four-Part Series
- Android Devices MUST be Updated + IT Departments Being Cut as Privilege Escalation Escalates
- Today’s Common Cloud Migration and Management Concerns
- Protect Your Healthcare Network from Cyberattack – Lives are at Stake
- Happy Halloween: Black Cats Lead to Boo….Hoo.
- Insurance Underwriters are Protecting Their Flanks
- Insurance Companies Cracking Down as Cybercriminals Become Better Business Builders
- Scary Cyberattacks Stats
- Parents, Profs and IT Professionals Perceive Back-to-School Through Different Lens
- Zscaler’s new IDTR and other tools that leverage generative AI
- Vanquish Vaping, Vandalism and Villainy
- Fabric for Fast-Paced Environments
- Changes to Cyber Insurance Requirements – What you Need to Know
- Cybersecurity Readiness – Newly Released Report
- Passwords Leaked…Again
- 10-Step Patch Management Checklist
- Remote – Again – For Now… and Still Maintaining Engagement
- Protecting Pocketbooks, Passwords and Property from Pilfering
- Raspberry Robin: Highly Evasive Worm Spreads over External Disks
- Cisco Introduces Responsible AI – Enhancing Technology, Transparency and Customer Trust
- Managing Customer Trust in Uncertain Supply Chain Conditions
- Hope on the Horizon
- Toys of Tomorrow… What will spark your imagination? Fuel your imagination?
- Protecting Purses and Digital Wallets
- The Password that Felled the Kingdom + MFA vs 2FA
- The MOE’s RA 3.0 and Zscaler
- 7 Critical Reasons for MS Office 365 Backup
- Penetration Testing Important, but…
- Social Engineering and Poor Patching Responsible for Over 90% of Cybersecurity Problems
- Breach Incidence and Costs On the Rise Again + 5 Ways to Reduce Your Risk
- Cybersecurity Insurance Policies Require Security Audits and Pen Testing
- Wireless strategies for business continuity gain importance as enterprise expand IoT, cloud, and other technologies
- How Cybercrooks are Targeting YOU
- Enabling Digital Transformation with Cisco SD-WAN
- WFH Post Pandemic – What It Will Look Like. What You’ll Need.
- Leaders to looking to the IoT to improve efficiency and resiliency
- Cyber Security Vernacular – Well, some of it, for now
- Why You Need Disaster Recovery, NOT Just Back-Ups
- 10 Reasons Why Having an Expert Manage Your Cybersecurity Makes Sense and Saves Dollars
- Converting CapEx IT Investments into Manageable OpEx
- The Hybrid Workplace – Planning the Next Phase
- Cisco Cloud Calling: Empowering Customers to Thrive with Hybrid Work
- When You Can’t Access the Cloud
- How to Keep On Keeping On
- New Cisco Research Reveals Collaboration, Cloud and Security are IT’s Top Challenges
- Threats from Within on the Rise
- Cloud Covered? If Not, Take Cover!
- Zero Trust and Forrester Wave Report
- Password Based Cyber Attack: Like Leaving Keys Under Doormats
- So, What’s Up With Sensors?
- Sensors and Systems Create a Digital “Last Mile” and Help Skyrocketing Costs
- Scanners Provide Peace of Mind for Returning Students and Workers
- Sensors Improve Operations and Bottom Line… Easily and Cost-Affordably.
- Cisco Meraki Looks at 2021
- 2020 Holiday Shopping: Cybersecurity and Other Tips to Safeguard Wallets and Systems
- How to make the most of the technology you have
- Personnel, Planet and Business Progress: More Interdependent Than Ever Before
- Sure… you can get them all in the boat – but can you get them to work well together?
- Pushing the Zero Trust Envelope – Cisco is Named a Leader in the 2020 Forrester Zero Trust Wave
- Cloud Data Must be Protected, Too!
- Don’t Let Anyone Get the Dirt on You – Make It Instead!
- How IoT Devices Can Help You and Your business
- WebEx – A World of Possibility
- Creating Your Breach Response Plan Now Will Save You Thousands Down The Road
- Been hacked? Here’s what you must do next.
- The Need for Pen Testing is At an All-Time High
- 5 Ways an IT Reseller Improves Your Performance and Peace-of-Mind
- 5G and Wi-Fi 6: Faster, more flexible, and future ready. Are you?
- Network and Data Security for Returning and Remote Workers + Disaster Recovery Symposium
- Collaboration and Cisco WebEx: Protecting Your Data
- Thursday’s Virtual Conference Tackles Today’s Supply Chain Trials and Tribulations
- 10 Tips to Reduce Cloud Storage Risk
- COVID-19 Crisis Fuelling IT Spending
- Supply Chain/Logistics Experts Share Their Expertise
- Cisco Breach Defence Overview
- Announcing Our New Website and Blog
![10-Step Patch Management Checklist](https://cloudmanaged.ca/wp-content/uploads/bfi_thumb/Blog-July-24-2024shutterstock_1121392865-3kt75lm2geciqjbdrsv4ei.jpg)
10-Step Patch Management Checklist
by By Jane-Michèle Clark
Jul 24, 2024
If you’re in IT, and even if you’re not, you already know it’s critical that your networks and endpoints be protected from cyberthreats. Nor is there any need to share yet another scary stat related to cyberattacks – especially since last week’s CrowdStrike “incident” (though how anyone can call a problem of that magnitude an incident, is beyond comprehension), made global headlines as it wreaked international havoc.
In the blog post released late on Friday, July 20, the day after millions of computers around the world could no longer connect to the World Wide Web, nor access Microsoft applications, CrowdStrike said, “the programming error was triggered by a sensor configuration update to Falcon, which is a frequent type of update.” Reports today suggest that insufficient testing was done in its sandbox, before the update was rolled out.
Regardless, airlines, banks, hospitals and other critical services were impacted as they weren’t prepared to respond. Could some companies have remained operational with good breach preparedness plans in place? Experts are divided in the response to this question – but you should still have plans and backup and remediation protocols in place.
For many companies, the impact was severe. It is estimated that in the United States, Fortune 500 companies lost over $5 billion in revenues and gross profit.
Once the dust settles, and the finger-pointing stops, it will boil down to one simple thing: An error was made in terms of how one update was pushed out to users.
Updates and patches have traditionally been problematic. Five years ago, nearly 60% of breaches were linked to vulnerabilities created where patches were available, but not applied.
Today, with more and more applications residing the cloud, the onus is on providers to patch is required. However, patching is not yet a thing of the past. For widely distributed networks, patching can be an arduous and sometimes complex job for IT departments.
Why?
Despite so much having the to the cloud, the number of applications and OSes requiring patches continues to increase, as that the frequency with which vendors need to release new patches to added features, address glitches and reduce/eliminate security vulnerabilities. But increasingly diverse, and sometimes siloed, networks, along with myriad devices which may need to be patched differently, it is no wonder that IT employees can feel overwhelmed, and patches fall through the cracks.
Bottom line, no matter how good your firewall, or internal protocols, if you fail to patch properly in a timely manner, it can be all for naught.
So, given recent events, it seemed like a good time to revisit good patching protocols.
10 Steps for Successful Patch Management
-
Take stock and catalogue
Start by taking inventory of i) all firmware, along with corresponding “end of support” and “end of life” dates, and the software that is running in each endpoint, ii) all operating systems and their version codes, iii) applications, being used along with the contact details for all providers.
If you have a many devices and solutions running, you may need to invest in an automated patch management solution; many of these are able to do this inventory in your behalf.
- Assess Status Quo
When taking stock, nearly 50% of organisations discover that some of their systems are running outdated applications. In these instances, patching will not work. The solutions will likely need to be upgraded, which may require new licensing. Depending on the scope, it may be worth considering an Enterprise Agreement for the new licenses.
-
Assign Priorities
In most instances, it is not feasible to upgrade and/or patch all systems and applications simultaneously. Not only is it unmanageable, the resulting chaos would leave you vulnerable to attack – and to missing threat vector alarms.
Instead, categorize each component, assigning a risk value to each piece of equipment, operating system, security solution and other applications. Determine which are most critical, and start there.
-
Develop a Strategic Approach for Standardizing Systems
When you are running different versions of an application, or Operating System, it can increase costs and security risks. Standardization can help ensure smooth, seamless network operations and user experiences, but you can’t simply decide to upgrade. You need to factor in your priorities, starting first with the mission-critical ones.
You also need to consider in the hardware upgrades that may be required, and budget for those, too.
-
Test Out Each New Patch in an Isolated, Secure Sandbox or Lab
Every time you deploy a patch, there is a possibility that something will go awry. Even software companies can sometimes release problematic software. Last week’s CrowdStrike fiasco, makes this a gross understatement.
By testing the new patch in an isolated environment, you can identify any impact it is going to have on your current environment. Sometimes, applications that are dependent on and/or interface with a solution that is being upgraded, can be negatively impacted by the change. This is particularly true of customs/proprietary software.
Lastly, under the category of “obvious”: When the security team tests the patch, table top exercises should be run to ensure the patch actually does correct the function-related problem and/ or security weakness it was intended to address – without introducing new vulnerabilities.
-
Document Your System’s State Pre-and Post Patch
It’s important to document the state of your systems before any patch is applied. After the pre-determined amount of time has passed (i.e. how long you want the patch to remain in place before assessing its impact), document the state of your system post patch. If there are problems down the road, this will help you determine if there is any correlation between when the problem began, and a particular patch that was deployed.
-
Identify Endpoints/ Firmware That Need Patching
Next, following your strategic plan (from Point 4 above), start to implement the endpoint patches. Remember to update the master inventory catalogue.
-
Keep Track of What Has Been Updated or Patched
Each time a patch is tested, update the master catalogue, indicating what patches were tested, when – and what outcome was observed. Include any notes or recommendations that will help the next team, with the next phase.
-
Implement a Formal Patch Management Process
Even if you decide to adopt an automated patch management solution, you will need to develop protocols for determining whether or not a patch should be deployed. Safeguards should be created to prevent patches from being deployed accidentally.
-
Rinse and Repeat