Why Is Patching So Important?
Originally published on PinHawk
Patching servers is a time-consuming and tedious task that many firms have been putting off due to resource constraints. It is one of those issues easy to overlook, but critical to address due to the alarming increase of high-profile cyberattacks.
Simply put, unpatched servers pose an immediate and present danger to your firm’s network security. The software that keeps your firm’s business-critical servers running needs to be constantly updated or patched in order to plug potential security flaws.
What if we don’t patch?
Patching plays a critical role in the software industry; it’s how Microsoft and all the major players in the industry protect the integrity and security of their systems. Whenever a new vulnerability is identified in one of their products, Microsoft will publish the problems as well as the fixes or “patches” to address those problems. At the same time as the ‘good guys’ receive the instructions to fix the vulnerability, the ‘bad guys’ begin to use these detailed directions to exploit systems that have not been patched. Read about high-profile patching horror stories here.
If it’s so important, why don’t firms patch?
While patching is one of the essential tasks that your firm’s tech staff must perform to keep your network secure, it is also painfully tedious and time-consuming. It can often require 2 hours per server. With hundreds of servers to manage, this creates a huge operational headache for mid-sized and large law firms. With organizations running lean, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with this thankless job on a monthly basis.
Unfortunately, it is not something that can be avoided. The integrity of a firm’s business-critical systems and client-sensitive data requires a proactive dedication to regular patching. Cybercrime is rampant and not going away.
Is there an easier way to Patch servers?
To learn more about how firms are managing the process efficiently, view this overview from Kraft Kennedy about how your firm can meet the Patching Challenge.