Page 49 - Cyber Defense eMagazine December 2022 Edition

Automated Patch Management Can Protect Your

Business from A Data Disaster

By Sami Mäkiniemelä, Chief Security Officer, Miradore

It's easy to identify security needs from physical threats we can see. For example, the aviation industry
prohibits guns or knives on planes and has a system in place with metal detectors and scanning devices
to make sure they aren’t allowed on board. But when it comes to the digital threats in the world of
cybersecurity, these are usually invisible making them much harder to identify and eliminate. That means
businesses need to be constantly scanning for threats to protect their vital business systems from an
unwanted data disaster.

Automated systems are key to accomplishing this goal. In a cybersecurity context, one of the most
impactful examples of this is automated patch management (APM). This is a process in which code
changes, or patches, are automatically deployed to devices to fix or update the operating system or
installed software products. APM is the easiest way to fix known vulnerabilities caused by outdated
software. According to the Ponemon Institute, 57% of cyberattack victims report that their breaches could
have been prevented by installing an available patch. And 52% of respondents say their organizations
are at a disadvantage in responding to vulnerabilities because they use manual software patching
processes.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – December 2022 Edition 49
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