Imagine having a house filled with treasures. It’s a beautiful house, one that everyone admires in the neighborhood. What’s more, people know all the wonderful things inside; you keep them on display for everyone to see.
Then you leave for a week, and place the key on the doormat where it’s in plain view.
Does that sound like a smart move?
Of course not. We’d even go so far as suggesting the homeowner may need to schedule a doctor’s visit to test cognizance.
Yet something similar happens all the time with technology.
No matter what programs, apps, or technology you use, it operates with software - coding that defines its purpose. Over time, “bugs” develop and open up holes for people to enter in an unintended way.
The only way to fix “bugs” is to install patches designed to close these security vulnerabilities. If you do them in a timely fashion, your risk decreases accordingly.
The US Department of Health and Human Services mandated with its HIPAA law that every healthcare organization under its jurisdiction is required to perform this critical step to secure their networks and protect information. All you have to do is watch the news to discover breaches occur all the time.
And the problem isn’t going to go away anytime soon.
How do you ensure you update your programs in a timely manner? Especially when you already have a million other things to do? Smart organizations look for solutions that make it easy to identify updates and deploy patches in an automated way. They create a patch management system that gives them every opportunity to reduce risk.
To have an effective patch management system, consider these:
Location, Location, Location
There was a time when computers, programs, storage devices, all of it sat within the confines of your office space. No more. With cloud-based applications, your systems and applications exist all over the world. Accessing them has also changed as people use their own handheld devices for access, and telecommute anywhere, anytime. No matter who owns it or where it exists, you still need assurances every piece of the system you use is adequately patched.
Wide Support
Microsoft. Apple. Android. Google. There are thousands - millions - of different ways you piecemeal your business operations together. And with every system or program you introduce into your network, you open yourself up to more risk. With the growth in bring-your-own-device, it’s more important than ever to make sure you have a grasp on everything that could go wrong. It’s the only way to ensure your patching solution accommodates everything.
Integration
Patch management is just a small portion of your overall security process. It’s an important one that shouldn’t be left to chance. How well have you integrated the process into your daily routines? Is it something that runs without you having to think about it? Who handles it? How fast do you make the updates?
If you can’t answer these questions of the cuff, maybe it’s time you did.
For IT Strategy, Cloud Conversion, or Help Desk Services reach out to us at Silver Linings Technology 360-450-4759.
