What is Patch Management Policy

Referring to a system for controlling threats inside your environment with a well-documented patching program, A Patch Management Policy implies a step-by-step approach.

It looks like we can only talk about patching and updating applications at SCAPPMAN; well, it has a bit of truth in that because that’s our core business. But we also love to talk about how we can help companies tighten their security and make sure they are ready for a zero-day exploit.

That’s why it’s so important to not only make sure your employees are up to speed with the latest tricks by ransomware hackers, etc. But also have a policy in place that makes sure that all of your hardware keeps safe from software code that can be flawed. You can see that 66% of all the attacks are coming from gaps in the software code. 

With the new software components from Microsoft Intune, it’s relatively easy to create a Patch Management Policy. Now let us show you what’s important. 

1. Make an inventory of hardware devices, including BYODs.
2. Make an inventory of company software.
3. Do a complete company survey on which programs are being used outside of the approved company software, think about WeTransfer, Image resizer software, etc. 
4. Make sure a team is responsible for carrying out this policy. 
5. Suppose you don’t have Patch Management Software in place like SCAPPMAN. Make sure you have a team that monitors and keeps a lookout for zero-day exploits or other exploits. 
6. Have a process of patching and updating software in your company. 
7. A crucial aspect of this is testing, a test environment where you can safely test if the patches and updates are working. 
8. Have a monthly recurring schedule on when you’ll patch and update the software. A patching schedule would be ideal. 
9.  Have documentation of what has been patched and updated. Also, documentation on how many devices and how many BYODs are up-to-date. 

You see that creating this kind of safe heaven or trustworthy system is not easy. You’ll need to take many steps with many people to ensure that everything is up and running and secure. You see that many tasks can be automated. That’s where SCAPPMAN comes in. We automate patch management, and together with partners such as managed service providers, you’ll reduce the number of steps significantly to create this kind of Patch Management Policy.

1. Connect your Microsoft Intune account with SCAPPMAN
2. SCAPPMAN takes care of the inventory of hardware & software.
3. Configure SCAPPMAN and create a patch management policy with your MSP or SCAPPMAN.
4. Let SCAPPMAN patch and update your inventory automatically.

Automation and digitalisation will be critical.