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 and 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Cyber-criminals, like burglars, will go for the easiest access first, and out of date software is a very easy target.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 vendor’s 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
