Security Basics: Patching Vulnerabilities

This post is one in a series of blog posts on the fundamentals of an information security program. You can see the complete list of posts in this series here.

Vulnerabilities happen. In most major pieces of software, such as Windows, Office, Java, Acrobat, Flash, Chrome, Firefox, Oracle, or anything else that runs on your servers and workstations, you can count on there being new flaws that affect your systems' security being announced frequently, often monthly.

While installing patches is a fundamental security activity, many organizations do not make a strong and comprehensive effort in this area. A recent study showed that organizations typically take months to install a patch from the time is it released. The time varied significantly by industry, with technology-centric companies taking just under two months, while financial services companies averaged almost six months.

Key factors to keep in mind in considering a vulnerability management program include:
  • Watching the news and subscribing to vendor mailing lists to ensure you are aware when important vulnerabilities are discovered in software that your organization uses

  • Testing and validating patches prior to deploying on production systems. Maintaining test systems is easier today with the prevalence of virtualized servers and workstations.

  • Ensuring that third-party software gets patched. Many organizations have good programs for updating Microsoft operating systems and applications, but neglect other software with frequent vulnerabilities such as Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, and Java (among many others).

  • Scan for vulnerabilities. Vulnerability scanning software will help you to find software vulnerabilities in your system that need to be patched, as well as issues with configurations that should be changed.

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