In the realm of cybersecurity, businesses are facing an ever-evolving landscape of threats, vulnerabilities, and attacks. Among the various types of tools and practices aimed at bolstering digital defences, two key strategies are important to be aware of with vulnerability management and patch management.
While both are essential components of any robust cybersecurity strategy, they serve distinct purposes and operate on different principles. Understanding the differences between vulnerability management and patch management is crucial for organisations aiming to safeguard their IT environment.
Patch management is a part of vulnerability management. All organisations do patch, but that doesn’t mean that they are patching all their vulnerabilities. A good security strategy will have both working in tandem.
What Is Vulnerability Management?
Vulnerability management is a proactive approach businesses and organisations should take to understand the security weaknesses of the business. This could be in areas where little staff support is available to carry out essential cybersecurity activities, software issues such as bugs or outdated software, or misconfigurations of systems. Whatever the weaknesses are, in order to have a strong defence against the risk of cyber attacks and threats, you must have an understanding of what they are and where they exist.
Vulnerability management is the process of continuous and routine scanning of systems, as well as assessment of organisational practices to identify these vulnerabilities. Having an ongoing process in which vulnerabilities are identified provides a greater chance of dealing with them and reducing the risks of cyber attacks.
Key aspects of vulnerability management include:
- Discover – the process begins with the identification of vulnerabilities. This may include leveraging the support of management tools to notify and alert staff to vulnerabilities in real-time.
- Prioritisation – these vulnerabilities are then ranked by prioritisation. Certain vulnerabilities will not be as risky as others and therefore attention must first focus on those vulnerabilities that pose an immediate risk.
- Remediation – once vulnerabilities are identified and prioritised according to the risks they create for the business, remediation methods must be carried out to address them. This is where patch management comes into play.
- Monitoring and Feedback – since vulnerability management is not a one time task, monitoring and regular feedback must be continued to prevent further risks. As each day, month, year passes, new vulnerabilities will arise, and it is the process of vulnerability management to ensure that these are addressed as soon as possible. With the support of expert cyber security teams, whether internal or external to the company, systems and software can be used to oversee your vulnerability management process.
Patch Management: Closing the Security Gap
Patch management focuses specifically on addressing vulnerabilities in software and operating systems by applying patches—updates released by software vendors to fix known security flaws. While patch management is a critical component of vulnerability management, it represents a narrower subset of activities aimed at addressing a specific type of vulnerability.
The process of patch management includes identifying the right patches for specific types of software and ensuring that these patches are deployed accurately and according to the requirements of the software on all affected devices. This monitoring will provide crucial feedback for your organisation. Offering insight into how effectively the patches have targeted the specific vulnerabilities they were intended to fix.
Combining Vulnerability Management And Patch Management
Since both vulnerability management and patch management are an integral aspect of the defence against cyber attacks and cyber threats, implementation and a seamless integration of the two practices into your business’ cyber security strategy will not only bolster your defences and provide greater security but will help to reduce the risk of threats to your business.
While your vulnerability management process will work to identify overall gaps and issues within your organisation’s wider technical infrastructure, patch management will offer immediate resolutions for the specific vulnerabilities found within your organisation’s software. Utilising the two strategies is an excellent way to ensure your company is protected against the ever-evolving and rising risk of cyber threats.