In the highly saturated digital world that is now our ‘normal’, the constant threat of cyber security vulnerabilities with hackers waiting in the wings to make their next move continues to be a heightened threat. The COVID-19 pandemic has only made that situation worse with hackers taking advantage of the unsuspecting users by using the pandemic as a way of gaining uninvited access to sensitive data.
With cyber-attacks costing businesses of varying sizes upwards of $200,000 in losses, as stated in the 2019 Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report, having a strong, robust security strategy in place to combat this alarming trend is more crucial than ever.
As companies revisit their existing (or lack of) security posture, patch management is something that business owners should consider including in their data protection strategy, if they aren’t already.
What is Patch Management?
So what exactly is patching? A patch is a piece of code that provides optimized performance capabilities to a program already running on your computer. Once a bug has been identified in your software, a patch is created to correct the problem without having to re-create the entire program. Think of it as basically a bandaid or medication for your computer to solve a problem or glitch discovered on your system.
Why is Patch Management Important?
Patch management is essentially the process of better managing these patches so that you can keep your systems up to date in a much more stream-lined fashion. A person or device (managed by an individual), will monitor your systems and look for system patches, assess the need for them, and make sure they are installed and deployed smoothly. What’s great about this is that it is a proactive security measure that keeps your systems up to date and healthy, and could potentially save your business from a costly and detrimental security breach down the road.
If your systems are not regularly patched, they may become more susceptible to cyber security vulnerabilities which will eventually lead to a disruption is business continuity and other potentially preventable losses. Unpatched systems can also result in the inability to upgrade your existing software to the latest version – a step usually needed in order to have the latest security patches in place.
The Value of Outsourcing your Patch Management Needs
As technology continues to advance, and security glitches continue to rise, imagine how overwhelming it could get for a business to be able to keep up with all the necessary monitoring and testing needed to be done in order to regularly and properly perform patching in-house?
Patching is not limited to just computer software. It can apply to all the facets of your IT environment – including desktops, printers, routers, etc. With all the different variables involved, it can become quite the daunting task to be able to manage of all this internally. That’s where an outsourced IT provider can add value by taking that load completely off your shoulder and fully manage your systems patching needs, so you don’t have to.
We would like to thank our guest blogger Sarah Warsi, Sentia Solutions
As marketing manager, Sarah plays a key role in managing Sentia's marketing efforts including developing the overall marketing strategy and direction, campaign development and execution, to digital and social media management. She holds a degree in Journalism from Ryerson University as well as a Certificate in Digital Marketing from the University of Toronto.
Our team at Sentia can be your go-to provider for all your patch management needs, giving you the freedom of focusing solely on your business growth and not your IT.
For a low monthly, per-device cost, we can manage, test and install all relevant system patches in your environment. Know your systems are well taken care of and in the trusted hands of our team of experienced professionals.
Contact us today to continue the conversation and get your business one step closer to a more secure environment.