THE WEAKEST LINK
Businesses rely on third-party applications to manage critical workflows and enhance productivity; but if they are not kept up to date then they become your weakest link and can cause you to fail to meet your GDPR obligations for managing cyber-risk.
Cyber-criminals know that patching can be a headache to manage, sucking up your time and increasing your management and admin costs – this is why it’s the most favoured form of attack – after all you have been kind enough to leave the door open for them!
Worst case scenario?
Your business comes to a standstill; you lose your data; you face a GDPR fine – you go out of business.
Best case scenario?
Automation of patching leaves you feeling safe and sound – you just need to decide what to do with the free time!
DON’T BE LOW HANGING FRUIT
Cyber-criminals, like burglars, will go for the easiest access first – and out of date software is a very easy target.
- Software and app updates are crucial to fix weaknesses and to help stop exploits.
- Most exploits use vulnerabilities that were last patched months ago: Don’t ignore ‘ready to update’ prompts and messages – download and install the update asap.
- Don’t let attackers dwell inside your network for months before being discovered, if at all.
- Data can be easily stolen when apps aren’t up to date – this could lead to GDPR non-compliance.
PUT A PATCH ON IT!
We know why patching and updating applications is so important; but we also know doing it manually is a pain and not always convenient.
Our advice is to not only automate your patch management but look for security software that has automated and/or virtual patching capabilities built-in and offers the following features and benefits:

- Vulnerabilities can be patched as soon as updates are available with zero set-up: Saving you time and money (every manual process costs expensive admin and management resources)
- Version control for applications: Allows updates to be setup to apply to specific software versions, enabling full coverage or legacy-specific deployments
- Guaranteed authentic updates by automatic checking of the hash patterns against the vendors’ sites: Eliminates the need to obtain patches from third-party websites and takes away the worry about the patch provenance
- Non-disruptive operation: The update process happens ‘silently’ in the background without disruption, meaning users can continue working.
- Make sure your cyber-security solutions are regularly inspected to ensure they’re correctly configured, patched, and updated. Incorrect security configuration is a major cause of security incidents.
Ask us about a quick and simple Security Health Check to keep you safe from cyber attacks