Patch Management

Patch management: Closing the Doors Attackers Walk Through

Introduction:

Unpatched vulnerabilities are the Swiss cheese of cybersecurity – full of holes attackers exploit. The ASD mandates patching critical vulnerabilities within 48 hours because 60% of breaches exploit known vulnerabilities with available patches.

Maturity Level Implementation:

Level 0:

(Non-Compliant)

  • No formal patching process
  • 90+ day patch latency
  • Frequent breach incidents

Level 1:

(Basic)

  • Monthly patch cycles
  • Critical patches within 14 days
  • Basic inventory tracking

Level 2

(Intermediate)

  • Weekly patch deployment
  • Critical patches within 48 hours
  • Automated rollback capability

Level 3:

(Advanced)

  • Continuous vulnerability monitoring
  • Cryptographic patch verification
  • Threat-based prioritization