What is the importance of keeping an operating system patched and up to date?

How many of us have received an update notification and clicked the “remind me later” button? We’re busy at work and think “I’ll do it later,” or “it’s probably not important.” *click*

It happens to the best of us; however, this seemingly innocent event can have serious consequences for businesses.

Table of Contents

Patch Management Definition

Patch Management is the process by which businesses/IT procure, test, and install patches (changes in code or data). 

Patches are intended to upgrade, optimize, or secure existing software, computers, servers, and technology systems that maintain operational efficacy or mitigate security vulnerabilities. 

While simple in nature, most growing businesses struggle to identify critical patch updates, test and install patch releases to fix problems as they occur. In fact, the average time to patch is 102 days.

It’s no surprise that with over 16,500 security vulnerabilities reported in 2018, it’s virtually impossible for a small or medium-sized business with strained IT resources to keep up and protect your company.

Patch management is a time consuming and often misunderstood task, yet the impact can have devastating effects:

57% of cyberattack victims stated that applying a patch would have prevented the attack. 34% say they knew about the vulnerability before the attack.

The window between the disclosure of a vulnerability and exploitation has shortened forcing companies to race and deploy a patch before cybercriminals can compromise systems.

What are the different types of patches?

Software patches fix existing vulnerabilities or bugs as they are found after a piece of software or hardware has been released.

There are several types of patches:

• Hotfix – A hotfix patch is designed to fix a specific issue. Unlike typical patches, these hotfixes are developed and released as soon as possible to limit the effects of a software issue.

  Hotfixes can be applied while the software or system is still running (hot), without the need to restart or close the program. A hotfix may not be publicly disclosed.

• Point Release – A point release (also known as a dot release) is a small or relatively minor update intended to fix an error or flaw of a piece of software without adding features.
• Maintenance Release – Incremental update between service packs or software versions to fix multiple outstanding issues.
• Security Patches – A security patch is a change applied to an asset to correct the weakness described by a vulnerability.

  This corrective action will prevent successful exploitation and remove or mitigate a threat’s capability to exploit a specific vulnerability in an asset.

  Patch management is a part of vulnerability management – the cyclical practice of identifying, classifying, remediating, and mitigating vulnerabilities (security risks).

• Service Pack (SP) or Feature Pack (FP) – Major patches that comprise a collection of updates, fixes, or feature enhancements to a software program delivered in the form of a single installable package.

  These typically fix many outstanding issues and normally include all the patches, hotfixes, maintenance, and security patches released before the service pack.

  Most of us are familiar with Windows Service Packs, for example, Microsoft began rolling out the Windows 10 Version 1903 Update service pack on May 21, 2019, which became available to all users on June 6th.

  Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 introduced privacy setting updates, more control over how Windows updates are applied, a sandbox for professional users, passwordless login, screen mirroring for Android phones, enhanced troubleshooting, and security features.

• Unofficial Patches – These patches are created by a third-party or a user community, most often because of a lack of support from the original software developer (e.g. the software company went out of business) or when a software product has reached its defined end-of-life.

  Like an ordinary patch, these are designed to correct bugs or software flaws.

  Nefarious individuals can introduce unofficial patches to create security vulnerabilities. while this is rare and quickly reported, we recommend only installing patches from trusted sources and for businesses to avoid unofficial patches.

• Monkey Patches – Similar to unofficial patches, a monkey patch (also known as a guerrilla patch) is an update designed to extend or modify the behavior of a plugin or software product locally without altering the source code.

What is the purpose of patching?

Patches are designed to repair a vulnerability or flaw identified after an application or software is released.

As we’ve learned, there are many types of patches. For this article, we’ll focus on official patches (hotfixes, point releases, security patches, and service packs).

Unpatched software can make the device a vulnerable target of exploits. Software patches are a critical component of IT operations and security.

How important is proactive patching to businesses?

We talk to small and medium business owners every day.

When we ask a prospective partner “how do you manage your system updates and proactive patching?” 8 out of 10 times, the answer is that the business does not have a formal patch management process, or “I don’t know.”

Let’s look at the world’s largest ransomware attack in history to understand how critical patch management is for the survival and operational effectiveness of your business.

The WannaCrypto (WannaCry) ransomware cyber attack was the perfect storm against individuals and businesses with poor patch management policies.

Even though Microsoft released a patch one month before WannaCry ransacked 200,000 computers across 150 countries causing damages estimated from hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in May 2017.

The cryptoware exploited a known vulnerability dubbed “ExternalBlue” allegedly developed by the U.S. National Security Agency. Unpatched computers were again targeted by the 2017 NotPetya cyberattacks for the same vulnerability.

Now years after the largest ransomware outbreak in history, attack attempts involving ExternalBlue continue to increase, reaching historic peaks according to ESET.

Why? Do we learn from the past?

Unfortunately, not everyone does, or individuals might not understand the critical threat patches prevent. For example, there are over 400,000 computers located in the United States that have not patched their systems to prevent hackers from exploiting this vulnerability.

Poor security practices and lack of patching are likely reasons why malicious use of the EternalBlue exploit has grown continuously since the beginning of 2017. This low hanging fruit is too attractive and lucrative for cybercriminals to pass up.

Patch Vulnerabilities by The Numbers

• 57% of data breaches are attributed to poor patch management. Source: Ponemon
• 37% of breach victims confirmed they don’t scan their systems for vulnerabilities. Source: Service Now + Ponemon Institute Study – Today’s State of Vulnerability Response
• 48% of 3,000 businesses surveyed reported one or more data breaches in the last two years. – Service Now + Ponemon Institute Study
• 34% of breach victims knew they were vulnerable before they were breached. – Service Now + Ponemon Institute Study
• 74% of companies can’t patch fast enough because they don’t have enough staff – Service Now + Ponemon Institute Study
• 65% of businesses state that it is difficult to prioritize patches. – Service Now + Ponemon Institute Study
• According to Edgescan, the average time to patch high-risk vulnerabilities increased by 22.9% from 64 days in 2017 to 83 days in 2018. Source: Edgescan Vulnerability Stats Report 2019
• 16,555 security vulnerabilities were released in 2018. Source: CVE Details
• 92%: Percentage of web applications with security flaws or weaknesses that can be exploited.
• 82% of employers report a shortage of cybersecurity skills, and 71% believe this talent gap causes direct and measurable damage to their organizations. CSIS – Cybersecurity Workforce Gap

Patch Management for Cybersecurity & Risk Mitigation

Prompt patching is vital for cybersecurity.

When a new patch is released, attackers use software that looks at the underlying vulnerability in the application being patched. This is something that hackers perform quickly, allowing them to release malware to exploit the vulnerability within hours of a patch release. 

Security patches prevent hackers and cybercriminals from exploiting vulnerabilities that could halt operations. Imagine if a hacker encrypted all your data, servers and computers for a ransom. 

Does your team have the resources, expertise, and recent backups needed to keep your business running?

By now, we should have a good grasp on how important an effective patch management procedure is to the cybersecurity of your business, clients and customers. 

So, what does an effective patch management process look like? We’ll review below the patch management lifecycle below.

Patch Management Lifecycle and Process

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Michael Yantz

Michael Yantz has a passion for data, marketing and technology, you'll find him writing about the latest IT news, security alerts, crafting copy, creating emails or tinkering with integrations. Unless sleeping, he's probably in front of a few screens or at the dog park with his Shiba Inu named Raiden.

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Why is it important to keep your system patched and up to date?

Updates can prevent security issues and improve compatibility and program features. Software updates are necessary to keep computers, mobile devices and tablets running smoothly -- and they may lower security vulnerabilities. Data breaches, hacks, cyber attacks and identity theft have all been in the news.

Why is it important to keep your operating system up to date?

Operating system updates provide fixes to possible bugs and security holes, along with cleaning up outdated software that may slow down your device. Ensure that your computer, mobile phone, or tablet is using the latest version of its OS to protect your devices and data from cybersecurity issues.