Discussion – Patch Management
Patch management refers to the process of applying vendor-issued updates to close security vulnerabilities and enhance the performance of devices. In some incidences, patch management is viewed as a vulnerability management activity. Patch management is important in running an organization because it entails balancing cybersecurity aspects with the operational needs of the business (Ting et al., 2023). The existence of vulnerabilities on devices is often capitalized on by hackers in launching cyber-attack activities, hence spreading malware. Therefore, vendors of these technological devices often release updates called “patches,” which try to fix any existing kind of vulnerability (Ting et al., 2023). Nevertheless, it has been established that the patching process may interrupt the normal flow of business activities. Do you need help with your assignment ? Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com.
The implementation of the patch management application adheres to the following six phases. The first phase is asset management, which entails keeping tabs on IT resources, operating systems, mobile devices, and remote and on-premises endpoints. It is also during this phase that IT teams specify the type of hardware and software versions to be utilized by employees (Hassani, 2020). This phase is then followed by patch monitoring, which entails being on the watchout for all the available patches, tracking the status of the assets, and identifying missing patches (Ting et al., 2023). Patch prioritization is the third phase in the patch management application. This phase encompasses using resources such as threat intelligence feeds to identify the most critical vulnerabilities in the system. The patches for critical vulnerabilities are considered before these other types of vulnerabilities.
The fourth phase of application patch management is patch testing. The presence of new patches has been realized to bring about problems, break integrations, or fail to address challenges that devices may have faced. Testing patches before their installation ensures that the IT team can detect and fix any types of vulnerabilities before they impact the entire network (Hassani, 2020). Patch deployment forms the fifth phase of a patch management application that denotes when and how patches are deployed. Patch deployment schedules are influenced by the type of work being executed in the organization. For instance, if the organization is large and employees work on various data sets, the patches may be applied in batches for some employees to continue working. In contrast, others are logged off (Hassani, 2020). Patch deployment includes plans to monitor unanticipated problems on the system. Lastly, the patch document is the last phase, which involves keeping asset inventory updated to ensure that it complies with cyber-security regulations.
References
Hassani, P. (2020). Implementing Patch Management Process. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/323462848.pdf
Ting, V., Chou, H. Y., & Wang, J. H. (2023, April). Securing Manufacturing through Patch Management for IoT Devices. In 2023 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Electronic Communications, Internet of Things and Big Data (ICEIB) (pp. 479-482). IEEE.
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Question 
Patch Management
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
Discuss Patch Management and explain how to implement Application Patch Management.