Online Security Patch Management

𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗧 𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗖𝗩𝗦𝗦 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. In IT, patching can often be a race against time. In OT/ICS, it's a 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. Applying a patch without a thorough process can pose a greater risk to operations than the vulnerability itself. Before you patch that critical PLC or HMI, don't just look at the severity score. Follow a deliberate approach. Our checklist breaks it down into four key phases: Phase 1: Triage & Info Gathering Verify the vulnerability, understand the asset's role, and review the patch itself. Is it even applicable? Phase 2: Risk & Impact Analysis Assess the true operational risk. What's the impact of patching vs. the risk of inaction? A high-severity vulnerability on a non-critical, isolated asset may not be your top priority. Phase 3: Planning & Preparation Develop detailed patching, rollback, and validation plans. Schedule a maintenance window that minimizes operational disruption. Phase 4: Communication & Approval Notify all stakeholders, get formal approval through your change management process, and document the final decision. The goal isn't just to patch everything, but to patch the right things at the right time with the right plan. Liked it ? Reshare #OTCybersecurity #ICS #IndustrialCybersecurity #PatchManagement #RiskManagement #CyberSecurity #OperationsTechnology

Nobody Has Solved Vulnerability Management Let's face it - vulnerability management remains unsolved—not for lack of tools or effort, but because the problem is rooted in the reality of complex, ever-evolving IT environments and misaligned priorities. The Root Cause 🚨 Prioritisation Paralysis: Security teams commonly label “everything” as a priority, leading to an unsustainable situation where real threats get lost in the noise. When all vulnerabilities are urgent, none actually are, diluting focus and overloading remediation teams. 🚨 Lack of Standardisation: Without industry-standard ratings, organisations juggle different scoring systems (CVSS, vendor scores, managerial directives), making effective risk prioritisation nearly impossible. 🚨 Silos & Communication Gaps: Security and IT operate in isolation—security wants speed, IT wants stability. This results in missed patches, rushed deployments without proper testing, and unclear accountability. 🚨 Information Blind Spots: Organisations lack full visibility into their attack surface, shadow IT, and contextual risk data. This leads to decisions made in the dark, undermining any best efforts at prioritisation. Why Current Approaches Struggle ⚠️ Overwhelming Volume: Monthly maintenance, zero-day threats, and critical app updates all compete for attention. Most teams fall back on rigid cycles, missing the nuance needed for real-world threats. ⚠️ Manual & Reactive Processes: Reliance on spreadsheets or siloed tools results in a reactive, rather than proactive, approach to patching. Best Practices for Patch Prioritisation To break the cycle, leading practice is moving toward a risk-based approach: 💡 Track-Based Remediation: Assign vulnerabilities to distinct tracks—routine, critical application, or urgent zero-days—and manage each according to risk and business impact. 💡 Continuous Contextual Analysis: Integrate vulnerability intelligence, exploit likelihood, compliance requirements, and business exposure into prioritisation—not just severity scores. 💡 Automation & AI: Use AI for fast analysis of vast data sources, applying predictive models to score risk more accurately. Automate patch testing and deployment to close gaps and improve consistency. 💡 Unified Visibility: Invest in tools that give a comprehensive, context-rich view of your organisation’s true attack surface and current exposures. The Path Forward Nobody has solved vulnerability management because the challenge isn’t just technical—it’s operational, cultural, and contextual. Until organisations bridge silos, clarify ownership, embrace risk-based prioritisation, and utilise advanced automation, vulnerability management will continue to be a juggling act.

🚨 Over 2,000 Palo Alto Firewalls Hacked Using Recently Patched Vulnerabilities (PATCH NOW) 🚨 The cybersecurity landscape is heating up as hackers exploit two recently patched vulnerabilities in Palo Alto Networks firewalls, resulting in over 2,000 compromised devices worldwide. The two flaws being exploited are: 1️⃣ CVE-2024-0012 – Authentication bypass in the PAN-OS management web interface, allowing attackers to gain admin privileges. 2️⃣ CVE-2024-9474 – Privilege escalation enabling attackers to run commands with root access. Palo Alto Networks first alerted customers on November 8 about potential exploitation of these vulnerabilities. By November 18, threat actors had launched attacks using chained exploits, targeting the web interfaces of firewalls. Shadowserver, a threat monitoring platform, has tracked over 2,700 vulnerable devices, with 2,000 already compromised. Key Developments: 🔹 Palo Alto Networks has observed attackers dropping malware and executing commands on breached devices, indicating the availability of a functional chain exploit. 🔹 The CISA KEV Catalog has now flagged these vulnerabilities, requiring federal agencies to patch affected devices by December 9. 🔹 Shadowserver data highlights global exposure, emphasizing the urgency of securing these devices. Immediate Actions for Organizations: ✅ Patch immediately: Apply all available updates to your PAN-OS firewalls. ✅ Restrict access: Secure management interfaces to trusted internal IPs only, following Palo Alto Networks’ deployment guidelines. ✅ Monitor actively: Review firewall logs for unusual activity and engage your SOC teams to detect potential compromise. These attacks highlight a growing trend in targeting critical infrastructure devices. Proactive security is paramount, as the cost of inaction could lead to widespread breaches, malware deployment, and administrative credential abuse. For those affected, remember that timely updates and segmentation of management interfaces are critical first lines of defense. This is a wake-up call: securing cybersecurity infrastructure is just as important as securing applications and user endpoints. The attackers are getting smarter—let’s stay one step ahead. #CyberSecurity #VulnerabilityManagement #IncidentResponse #PaloAltoNetworks #ZeroDayExploit

There's a bunch of cool new GKE security features I wanted to call out that solve some security patch management problems. Problem 1: prior to the launch of GKE Security Posture you needed to buy and manage a third-party product to get in-cluster vuln scanning on your containers. Now you can get built-in security scanning of all containers running in your cluster, regardless of which registry they pull from. That's on top of the existing in-registry scanning available for containers in AR/GCR. We cover both OS-level container image vulns and also vulns in language-level packaging systems (Java, Go, Javascript, Python). Problem 2: For several years we have automatically patched and upgraded your clusters by default, which is great. But if you wanted to self-manage upgrades, or closely watch your patch state, the best option to stay informed about the availability of the patches in GKE security bulletins was to subscribe to the RSS feed on the webpage. You'd then have to look at the affected/patched versions in the bulletin, match that with your inventory, and figure out which clusters should be upgraded to which versions. That's all now much simpler with security bulletin surfacing in Security Posture UI that will tell you: "hey this cluster is missing a security patch". And there's also a pubsub that makes it easy to integrate with SIEM/ticketing systems or create a slackbot-style notifier to let your ops channel know there's a cluster that needs an security patch. Or fire a cloud function to take some other action. Those notifications are rollout-aware, so you'll get the notification *as soon as the patch is available in your specific zone* so notifications are immediately actionable. Again, you don't *have* to do any of this because we upgrade your clusters automatically on a schedule chosen by your release channel, but it's there if you want to self-manage. See these blogposts for more details: https://lnkd.in/gGNsGQFC https://lnkd.in/gycJZk7D Cluster notifications pubsub: https://lnkd.in/gqzAJUpD Security bulletins: https://lnkd.in/gkAdHpEQ

If yesterday felt busier than a normal Patch Tuesday, you’re not imagining it. Microsoft pushed fixes for over 170 vulnerabilities, with 16 rated critical—and the mix hits real admins where it hurts. The standout CVE is a 9.8 RCE in WSUS that could let an unauthenticated attacker trigger code execution on your patch infrastructure. Yes, the thing that patches your stuff needs patching first. Add in elevation-of-privilege fixes across Windows components and a nasty ASP.NET Core security bypass, and you’ve got a patch window that calls for careful moves. And then there's the elephant in the room; Windows 10’s support clock just hit zero. So those Win 10 stragglers are going to need the ESU channel to keep getting security updates from here. Oh, and don't forget about these other EOL services with their final updates: Exchange Server 2016/2019, Outlook 2016, Office 2016/2019, Skype for Business 2016, plus Windows 11 IoT Enterprise 22H2. Next steps for the IT team should be to prioritize WSUS servers and any internet-facing web apps, stage BitLocker/Hyper-V/PowerShell updates for maintenance windows, and keep moving forward on your inventory planning for ESU on Win10. Before you touch a single server, write the rollback plan you wish you had last time. As simple as one page in plain English: who’s on point, the exact commands to back out, where the backups live, and when to call it if the smoke test fails. Do a five-minute dry run with the team and print it—yep, on paper—so it’s in reach when the room gets loud. Keep this week boring and predictable, then thank me later. Follow me for field-tested Microsoft patching and end-of-support game plans you can actually use. #PatchTuesday #MicrosoftSecurity #Windows10 #ModernWorkMindset

Cybersecurity loses when shortcuts win! Especially in Patch Management. Typical shortcuts taken by IT teams in patching: 1) Skipping testing: Deploying patches without testing leads to compatibility issues. 2) Delaying patching: Waiting until the next cycle leaves systems exposed. 3) Partial patching: Only patching critical systems while ignoring lower-priority ones. 4) Overlooking failed patching: Assuming patches applied successfully without validation. 5) Ignoring certain endpoints: Leaving remote devices unpatched, increasing entry points. 6) Relying on manual processes: Manual patching slows deployment & risks human error. 7) Not prioritizing based on risk: Treating all vulnerabilities equally instead of focusing on critical ones. The most mature companies follow these best practices. → Conduct thorough patch testing in isolated environments. → Establish automated patching workflows with regular scans. → Validate patch deployments & track failed applications. → Prioritize critical patches using risk-based assessment. → Include all devices, especially endpoints, in their patching strategy. → Use patching tools that integrate with VAPT software out-of-box. Shortcuts may feel easier now, but they lead to bigger gaps later. And a simple headache turns into a migraine! Avoid them to keep your organization secure. P.S. Which shortcut have you seen most often? ---- Hi! I’m Rajeev Mamidanna. I help CISOs strengthen Cybersecurity Strategies + Build Authority on LinkedIn.

Letter V: Vulnerability Management: Best Practices for a Patchwork World Our ‘A to Z of Cybersecurity’ explores Vulnerability Management - the ongoing process of identifying, prioritizing, and remediating vulnerabilities in your systems and software. It's like patching the leaks in your digital fortress! In a world of constantly evolving threats, vulnerability management is a critical practice: The Vulnerability Landscape: · Software Vulnerabilities: New vulnerabilities are discovered all the time, so staying up-to-date is crucial. · Exploit Availability: Cybercriminals are quick to develop exploits for known vulnerabilities. · Patch Management Challenges: Deploying patches across a complex IT infrastructure can be challenging. Building a Strong Defense: · Vulnerability Scanning: Regularly scan your systems for known vulnerabilities using automated tools. · Prioritization & Remediation: Prioritize patching based on the severity of the vulnerability and the potential impact. · Patch Management Process: Develop a systematic process for deploying patches efficiently and testing for compatibility issues. Continuous Vigilance: · Staying Up-to-Date: Subscribe to security advisories from software vendors and relevant cybersecurity organizations. · Vulnerability Intelligence: Leverage threat intelligence feeds to stay informed about emerging vulnerabilities. · Penetration Testing: Regularly simulate cyberattacks to identify and address any remaining vulnerabilities. Vulnerability management is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. By implementing a comprehensive strategy, you can proactively identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers. #QuickHeal #Seqrite #Cybersecurity #VulnerabilityManagement

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐲𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐬. 🔹 Vulnerability Scanning: Conduct quarterly scans to identify and document security weaknesses.   🔹Patching and Updates: Implement a robust patch management strategy, addressing critical vulnerabilities within 48 hours and others within 7-30 days based on severity. 🔹Vulnerability Assessments : Generate detailed reports to analyze risks and prioritize security measures. 🔹Penetration Testing : Simulate real-world attacks to identify critical vulnerabilities, performing tests once or twice a year. 🔹Red Team Engagement : Conduct realistic assessments of security capabilities, with Purple Team collaboration for real-time defense training. 🔹Vulnerability Remediation : Systematically eliminate identified weaknesses post-assessment and testing, with ongoing monitoring. 🔹Blue Team Training / Incident Response Training : Provide continuous training on best practices and response strategies to enhance security team readiness. 🔹 Overall Strategy : Implement these activities to strengthen security posture against evolving cyber threats. Disclaimer: The provided article is intended for educational and knowledge-sharing purposes related to cybersecurity. #ciso #cybersecurity

While not flashy, I am frequently asked “How does Microsoft do XYZ?” With 600,000 attacks per day across 750,000 devices, here’s how Microsoft transformed patch management at scale. 🌎 Patching has always been one of those “necessary but painful” parts of IT. At Microsoft, the challenge was not just keeping pace with the sheer volume of updates but doing so in a way that scaled across hundreds of thousands of endpoints without disrupting productivity. What’s interesting is how the approach has shifted from reactive, manual work to something that’s automated, unified, and now even leaning into AI. • Modernization: SCCM/WSUS --> Intune & Azure Update Manager • Unified updates: OS, apps, drivers, and firmware together • Hotpatching: Updates without reboots or downtime • AI next: Copilot and Device Care for predictive patching Patching can’t be an afterthought or a long, drawn-out process —it has to be quick and effective strategy. And even for smaller organizations, the lessons hold true: automate, simplify, and stay ahead of the curve. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/euk32wpz #Microsoft #PatchManagement #Intune #Azure #WSUS #SCCM #AzureUpdateManager #Cybersecurity

Interesting new paper on the effectiveness of security controls that touches on policy guidance: Evidence-based cybersecurity policy? A meta-review of security control effectiveness. Daniel W. Woods & Sezaneh Seymour https://lnkd.in/eU-7j2bt (h/t Sasha Romanosky) Cybersecurity policy should guide firms towards implementing the most effective security controls and procedures. However, there is no authority that collects evidence and ranks cybersecurity controls by efficacy. The evidence needed by policymakers is distributed across academic studies and industry white papers. To address this gap, we conduct a meta-review of studies that empirically evaluate the efficacy of cybersecurity interventions. Attack surface management and patch cadence were consistently the first and second most effective interventions. Reduced cyber insurance claims frequency was associated with migrating to cloud email and avoiding specific VPN providers. Multi-factor authentication was effective in protecting individual accounts, although inconsistent MFA-implementation undermines efficacy when rolled out across an organisation. The evidence suggests effectiveness is driven by how a control is implemented more than by a binary yes-no regarding whether it is implemented. Thus, policy measures that mandate specific controls are unlikely to result in risk reduction. Instead, policymakers should aim to support organisations in administering security controls and making risk-based decisions. Successful examples can be seen in policy measures that improve the efficiency of patch management, such as funding for the US National Vulnerability Database, CERT/CC, and the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.