In your search for an ideal risk-based patch management solution, Reddit or Google results might be the first places you visit in order to get any feedback, reviews, and recommendations from MSPs and individual users. You can initiate your own research to enhance your organization’s security posture by implementing effective risk-based vulnerability management. While browsing these resources that provide insight on the topic based on market standings and feedback from users, they won’t take into consideration your company’s characteristics, requirements, and needs.
These factors undoubtedly play a crucial role in the risk-based patch management strategy. To enhance understanding, we will delve into and elucidate the most crucial aspects of risk-based patch management strategy. What exactly is the role of risk-based patch management, why is it important, and what other valuable information can help answer your questions about this essential solution?
So let’s waste no more time and get to work.
What is Risk-Based Patch Management?
Risk-Based Patch Management is a strategic approach to prioritize and apply software patches and updates based on the level of risk they pose to an organization’s IT infrastructure and critical assets. By considering factors such as vulnerability severity, asset criticality, exposure to threats, exploit availability, and patch quality, this method enables organizations to focus resources on addressing the most critical vulnerabilities first, ensuring timely protection while minimizing potential negative impacts caused by rushed patching.
Why is Risk Based Patch Management Important?
Risk assessments are the cornerstone of effective vulnerability and patch management. They help prioritize the software updates based on their potential impact on the organization’s cybersecurity posture.
Nowadays, every single organizations face a constant, never-ending process of patch management due to the constantly increasing number of software vulnerabilities discovered on a daily basis. As of spring 2024, the CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) Program reported a cumulative total exceeding 230,000 documented security vulnerabilities. This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which also maintains the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) monitors and tracks these known vulnerabilities through its National Vulnerability Database. On a typical day, NIST adds dozens of new CVEs to its dashboard, translating to thousands of new entries each month. By spring 2024, NIST’s dashboard had cataloged nearly 250,000 CVEs, highlighting the rapidly expanding landscape of cybersecurity threats.
Installing the most critical security patches that close vulnerabilities with the highest risk score is necessary in order to safeguard your company and prevent hackers from exploiting them and starting a cyberattack.
Despite the fact that automation is able to speed the process, there will always be a window time gap between identifying a vulnerability and closing it. As we all know, hackers are constantly searching for unpatched systems, finding vulnerabilities to exploit in order to gain financial benefits from a successful cyberattack.
The truth is that not all patches are equally important, as some of them address security flaws that pose minimal risk to your company or introduce new features to the software. On the other hand, there are patches designed to fix critical vulnerabilities that pose significant risks for the company’s IT infrastructure, or they offer advanced security features that can enhance the overall security posture.
This is why equipping a company with a risk-based patch management solution is always a great decision; this approach helps to prioritize the implementation of patches that will yield the best results, particularly those that address the most critical vulnerabilities and add features that will enhance the security posture.
It is a well-known fact that organizations find it impossible to implement all available patches in a short period of time, but RBPM can streamline the process, minimize downtime, and still give optimal results by promptly prioritizing and deploying those patches based on their risk score.
How does RBPM work?
Nowadays, organizations of all sizes are implementing various tactics and tools to improve their security posture. It is safe to say that transitioning from conventional patch management approach to a risk-based one is a significant step towards achieving cyber resilience. What makes risk-based patch management unique? We will now answer this question and explain how exactly RBPM works.
Risk-based patch management’s core function is to address software vulnerabilities that pose the greatest threat to your company. This advanced approach considers real-world factors to identify and prioritize which vulnerabilities need immediate attention. Security teams can allocate their resources more efficiently by focusing on the most dangerous software flaws first, ensuring their timely mitigation.
The process always begins with identifying vulnerabilities, processing detailed assessments, and analyzing factors such as vulnerability severity, affected system criticality, and potential business impact.
To maintain a competitive edge, risk-based patch management frequently employs the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) and other scoring systems, gathers data from the National Vulnerability Database, and leverages threat intelligence feeds and internal system monitoring to bolster risk mitigation efforts.
Prioritizing vulnerabilities is the foundation for addressing the most critical threats efficiently in order to avoid any implications and to close the software flaws as quickly as possible to prevent significant data breaches and system shutdowns.
Furthermore, RBPM enables your company to schedule moderate-risk issues for the next maintenance window and bundle low-risk patches into regular update cycles. It is a well-known fact that not all software vulnerabilities pose the same risks; this necessitates starting with the most critical ones to minimize the time between identifying the vulnerability and addressing it, rather than immediately installing all available patches.
This approach will help your organization to manage your attack surface and, at the same time, to efficiently allocate resources while minimizing disruption to the IT environment.
Testing patches after prioritization emerges as a major challenge for 50% of security teams, but creating test environments or groups of endpoints to verify that the patches work as expected plays a critical role in addressing security vulnerabilities.
Just as you wouldn’t risk your health by going barefoot all day during your daily activities, your company should also take precautions to prevent potential harm. You cannot risk installing patches across your entire network without testing them first to ensure they effectively address the vulnerability, do not introduce new cyber risks, or cause system instability. Reliable patch management software will enable your organization to automate testing procedures, thereby accelerating this process while maintaining reliability.
Following testing, patch deployment begins by using a phased approach, starting with less critical systems and then moving on to the essential components in your company’s IT environment. This approach will enable your security team to monitor closely the patching process for any unexpected issues and roll back updates if necessary.
The next step is to create detailed documentation of the patch status, testing results, and if there were any issues; this is mandatory in order to support compliance requirements while improving future decision-making. By maintaining such documents, your company’s security team can shape and improve the process at every step, resulting in a more efficient patching process at the end of each lifecycle.
The effectiveness of risk-based patch management relies heavily on having well-defined policies, robust monitoring systems, and clear communication channels between security teams, system administrators, and business stakeholders.
Regular reviews and adjustments of the risk assessment criteria ensure the process remains aligned with evolving critical threats and business needs while maintaining an optimized approach to cyber risk management.
What is the Difference Between Standard Patch Management and Risk-Based Patch Management?
Standard patch management solutions are known for using a reactive approach in order to address software vulnerabilities; organizations apply patches across all devices in their network, regardless of how these patches have been prioritized based on their severity. As you are aware, this process is straightforward, but it lacks nuance. Why is that? Because every patch is given equal importance, potentially leading to inefficient resource allocation and the omission of critical security threats.
On the other hand, risk-based patch management uses a more sophisticated and intelligent approach to effectively manage vulnerabilities. Simply put, this strategy transforms vulnerability assessment from a mechanical process into a strategic decision-making framework, relying on integrated threat intelligence to identify which vulnerabilities pose the greatest risk to your endpoints. Then the necessary patches will be installed in order to close these vulnerabilities immediately.
This confirms the fact that standard patch management solutions apply a basic approach to vulnerability prioritization, whereas risk-based methods conduct a deep, contextual analysis of vulnerability data. These methods carefully evaluate each vulnerability’s potential for exploitation, its impact on sensitive data, and its relevance to your business-critical operations.
Instead of targeting and treating all patches equally, RBPM is creating a nuanced hierarchy of risks by analyzing factors such as the likelihood of vulnerability exploitation, potential business impact, and the criticality of affected systems. Thus, enabling your security team to rely on a more targeted risk reduction approach, focusing efforts and resources on the most critical threats that can cause substantial damage to your organization’s infrastructure.
Let’s now explore the role of integrated threat intelligence in completing the puzzle. This intelligent system is always looking for and analyzing patterns of actively exploited vulnerabilities. This turns patch management from a reactive process into a top-notch strategic security mechanism that can predict and respond to new threats proactively while optimizing resource allocation, making cybersecurity more effective and proactive.
What is the difference between RBPM and RBVM?
IT jargon can cause a lot of confusion among security teams, especially for new technicians and business owners. It’s safe to say that it’s easy to misinterpret similar-sounding terms that are not synonyms, such as “risk-based patch management” and “risk-based vulnerability management.”
Despite their interconnectedness, they serve different roles in safeguarding an organization’s endpoints and reducing cybersecurity risks.
Risk-Based Patch Management (RBPM)
Risk-Based Patch Management represents a sophisticated approach to addressing software vulnerabilities through strategic patch deployment within comprehensive vulnerability management programs. The difference compared to conventional patch management solutions is that RBPM focuses on intelligent, prioritized patching that expands its capabilities beyond traditional update processes.
The core principle of RBPM involves the selective and strategic application of patches. Organizations using this approach analyze each potential software patch through a risk-focused lens, evaluating the specific vulnerability’s potential impact, exploitability, and relevance to their unique IT infrastructure within a complete visibility framework. This means not every available patch receives immediate attention; instead, patches are carefully prioritized based on their potential to mitigate significant risk and address high-risk vulnerabilities.
RBPM works based on a comprehensive assessment of each vulnerability, considering key factors such as:
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The potential for exploitation by hackers
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The criticality of affected systems
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The likelihood of a successful attack
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The potential business operations disruption from a potential breach
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (RBVM)
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management represents a broader, more comprehensive approach to organizational cybersecurity. Now that we know that RBPM focuses specifically on software patching, RBVM’s goal is to provide a holistic strategy for identifying, assessing, and mitigating vulnerabilities across every single device connected to the company’s network.
RBVM is a dynamic, continuous monitoring process that involves comprehensive vulnerability assessment, threat intelligence integration, and strategic risk mitigation.
This strategy takes into account several elements of potential security risks, including:
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Network configuration vulnerabilities
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System misconfigurations
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Potential attack vectors
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Emerging threat landscapes
The strategic nature of RBVM allows for the development of a proactive security posture. Instead of merely responding to known exploited vulnerabilities, it creates a comprehensive framework for understanding and addressing potential security risks before they escalate and are exploited.
It is safe to say that integrating both RBPM and RBVM creates a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity that combines targeted patch management with comprehensive vulnerability assessment and risk mitigation. Understanding and implementing these sophisticated approaches can help your organization develop a more resilient, adaptive, and proactive cybersecurity strategy, enabling it to promptly respond to the countless cyber threats lurking around the corner, ready to strike at any moment.
Risk Based Patch Management Best Practices
Devising risk-based patching best practices for your enterprise is a complicated process that requires attention and careful consideration. We will help you with this task by giving a quick peek into the best practices for RBPM that you can follow in order to bolster your patching strategy.
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Collaborative Vulnerability Assessment
In order to successfully implement a risk-based approach to patch management, it is vital to have your IT and security teams working together, creating a unified approach to identifying and prioritizing security vulnerabilities. The foundation of this process must be developing a comprehensive risk assessment framework that aligns with organizational objectives, breaking down silos between departments, and ensuring a holistic view of potential security threats.
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Maintain real-time, comprehensive asset inventory
You can’t protect what you don’t see; maintaining a real-time detailed inventory of all software and hardware assets is mandatory for creating an effective patch management process. A detailed inventory is not just a simple listing; it requires complete visibility across the entire IT infrastructure.
Manually updating and validating the asset inventory was a time-consuming process years ago, but today’s automated asset discovery and tracking tools enable continuous updates and validation, giving your security team a precise and dynamic view of the company’s IT infrastructure.
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Develop sophisticated risk-scoring methodology.
Developing a sophisticated risk-scoring methodology is essential for evaluating vulnerabilities effectively. To do so, your team has to consider multiple factors, including potential business impact, vulnerability exploitation likelihood, existing security controls, and last but not least, system criticality.
Utilizing standardized risk assessment frameworks like the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) will allow your organization to make data-driven decisions about which vulnerabilities to address first and, of course, with what level of urgency.
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Implement automated patch management tools.
Investing in reliable and effective patch management software is a must for every organization, no matter its size. Why is that? Because these solutions have the capability to automate entirely the patching process, with the flexibility to schedule them according to your company’s specific needs and requirements, one of the biggest benefits is that it minimizes manual intervention and eliminates the human error factor.
These factors ensure smooth patch implementation with minimal operational disruption, reducing the window of vulnerability while maintaining system stability and performance.
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Continuously monitor emerging threats.
Your security team must develop a habit of continuously monitoring authoritative sources such as CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, the National Vulnerability Database, and vendor security advisories. This will facilitate the creation of real-time vulnerability tracking strategies, which will enable the proactive identification and mitigation of potential security risks. To wrap it up, we have to say that automation is vital, but being informed about the latest vulnerabilities is equally important.
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Maintain detailed documentation.
Maintaining detailed records is a fundamental best practice in risk-based patch management, including documentation of applied patches, vulnerability assessments, and patch deployment history. Every company must create comprehensive audit trails, because it supports compliance efforts, enables chronological analysis, and provides a clear historical record of security interventions.
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Create alternative risk mitigation strategies
Beyond traditional patching, your organization should develop a holistic approach to risk reduction. This involves considering alternatives such as system modernization, network segmentation, access control reconfiguration, and decommissioning obsolete software. By adopting a multi-layered strategy, you will be able to address vulnerabilities through various technical and strategic approaches.
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Establish rigorous testing and validation procedures
Implementing a strict testing methodology is crucial for successful patch management. This includes staged patch deployment, thorough testing in non-production environments, and verification of patch compatibility and system stability. Furthermore, developing comprehensive rollback procedures ensures that you can quickly revert changes if unexpected issues arise during the patch deployment process.
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Roll out carefully
Always implement patches on less critical systems first; if everything functions as expected without any disruptions, then proceed with patch deployment across your entire IT infrastructure.
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Ensure regulatory compliance and transparent reporting
Aligning patch management with industry regulations and generating comprehensive reports is vital. Organizations should track key performance indicators, create detailed documentation, and demonstrate their security posture to stakeholders. This practice not only ensures regulatory compliance but also provides transparency and accountability in cybersecurity efforts.
How Can Organizations Adopt Risk Based Patch Management Solution?
With this article, we aim to help you understand the critical importance of providing your organization with an effective and reliable risk-based patch management solution, not only to keep your systems up-to-date but also to properly prioritize and deploy patches based on their severity and the risks they present for the company. Equipping your organization with a risk-based approach to patch management can serve as your most valuable security tool in the fierce battle against cybercriminals and their sophisticated attacks.
Every company, no matter its size, whether it is small, medium, or large one, must strategically balance its security needs with operational continuity. The primary objective is to promptly address vulnerabilities, taking into account their potential risk to the organization, without causing any disruption to crucial systems and operations. It is a fact that legacy vulnerability management tools struggle to provide the best results balancing these fundamental aspects.
Adopting a risk-based approach to patch management software, which prioritizes active exploits and focuses on risk, solves this issue by reducing the company’s exposure to threats across the entire attack surface.
But let’s return to the main topic: How can organizations adopt a risk-based patch management solution? You will find the answer below:
Gain Comprehensive Visibility into IT Infrastructure
Every organization must begin its vulnerability management process by developing a thorough understanding of its IT infrastructure. To manage risk effectively, your company must have complete visibility over the entire attack surface. Creating a detailed, dynamic inventory that captures every endpoint within the network is fundamental.
The good news is that an advanced patch management software is capable of mapping out network devices, software applications, cloud resources, and interconnected systems automatically through real-time monitoring, providing the needed visibility into potential security vulnerabilities.
Align Risk-Based Patch Management with Business Objectives
Aligning the organization’s vulnerability remediation efforts with business priorities and risk tolerance lays the foundation of the RBVM. This means identifying which systems and applications are most critical to operations and customer trust.
Focusing on areas with the highest severity rating enables you and your security team to prioritize remediation based on the potential impact of an exploited vulnerability, thereby addressing the most pressing risks first.
Leverage Advanced Threat Intelligence
It is clear that an effective risk-based approach lies in the ability to assess and prioritize vulnerabilities strategically in order to achieve the best possible results. Your security team must develop advanced mechanisms and approaches that have the capability to look beyond surface-level assessments. This can be achieved by developing a nuanced framework that takes into account multiple critical factors, including potential business impact, system criticality, and the likelihood of exploitation.
Implementing a robust risk assessment methodology transforms patch management from a reactive to a proactive strategy. RBPM integrates comprehensive threat intelligence, detailed system context, and real-world exploit potential. Through this approach, an organization’s security team can make intelligent decisions about which vulnerabilities require immediate attention and which can be managed through alternative mitigation strategies.
Implement Automated Patch Management
Cutting-edge organizations leverage sophisticated automated platforms that streamline the vulnerability management process. These advanced tools can automatically monitor environments, identify potential risks, and deploy patches based on predefined policies. The key is to balance technological automation with strategic human oversight, ensuring that patch management remains efficient without causing unexpected workflow disruptions.
Establish Continuous Monitoring and Validation Processes
Successful vulnerability management requires a dynamic, continuous approach. For that reason, your company must implement comprehensive monitoring tools that provide real-time insights into the company’s security posture.
Validation is equally important to ensure that all patched endpoints are functioning as expected, free from any bugs that could cause business downtime. Creating a feedback loop that tracks patch deployment success, analyzing remediation efforts, and continuously reassessing the effectiveness of existing strategies is absolutely mandatory.
Reduce Downtime and Maintain Operational Continuity
It is a well-known fact that one of the biggest challenges in patch management is maintaining operational continuity while remediating vulnerabilities. A risk-based approach minimizes business downtime by focusing on critical patches that mitigate the most severe risks. This ensures that your company remains secure without unnecessary downtime or performance issues, a balance that is essential for industries where uninterrupted operations are vital.
Adopting a risk-based approach to patch management allows organizations to intelligently direct their resources and efforts, focusing on the vulnerabilities that pose the greatest threat to their operations. This approach is a step towards proactive cybersecurity, enabling organizations to stay ahead of threats and reduce their risk of falling victim to cyberattacks.
Action1 and RBPM Approach
Action1 reinvents patching with an infinitely scalable, highly secure, cloud-native platform configurable in 5 minutes — it just works and is always free for the first 200 endpoints, with no functional limits. Featuring unified OS and third-party patching with peer-to-peer patch distribution and real-time vulnerability assessment with no VPN needed, it enables autonomous endpoint management that preempts ransomware and security risks, all while eliminating costly routine labor. Trusted by thousands of enterprises managing millions of endpoints globally, Action1 is certified for SOC 2 and ISO 27001.
The company is founder-led by industry veterans Alex Vovk and Mike Walters, who founded Netwrix, which has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry-leading cybersecurity company.
