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Step-by-Step Guide: Best practices for security patch management


Felicia Nicastro, CISSP, CHSP, ISSMP
09.16.2005
Rating: -5.00- (out of 5)


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Patch management has plagued organizations for years and continues to be a popular topic of discussion. As technology evolves and attackers develop new methods to exploit vulnerabilities, the management of computer security becomes increasingly critical in maintaining the integrity of the business infrastructure. As a proactive initiative, security patch management is the primary line of defense for protecting a corporate computing infrastructure.

Patch management is the people, procedures and technology responsible for keeping computers current with updates developed for an existing software product. Security patch management is patch management with a focus on reducing security vulnerab



ilities. It should not be a defensive procedure in reaction to critical incidents. There are emergencies that warrant such cases, but security patch management should primarily be a proactive procedure for keeping the environment secure and reliable. Security patch management as a functioning procedure ensures that all identified software updates are in place, thereby eliminating vulnerabilities from the environment and mitigating the risk of computers being compromised.

This step-by-step guide explains how to successfully deploy a security patch, including the security patch testing phase, the physical patch deployment phase and the post deployment review.

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