The importance of patch management in today’s cybersecurity environment cannot be understated by organizations today. The world of cyber threats is a rapidly evolving and dynamic one. Hackers are hard at work at every hour and at every minute trying furiously to find vulnerabilities into the systems used by millions of organizations all over the world. The minute one vulnerability is found, it is exploited mercilessly.
That is where patching becomes important. Systems which are not patched with the latest updates make themselves very vulnerable. In fact, the WannaCry ransomware attack, which affected hundreds of thousands of systems in 2017, occurred because the organizations were not updated with the latest Windows 10 update. Organizations which have mixed OS environments (i.e. some systems using Windows, some MacOS, some Linux) may have it more difficult to keep track of all cross-platform patches. This is where Seqrite’s Endpoint Security (EPS) solution can come in handy.
The EPS benefit
Seqrite’s Endpoint Security (EPS) solution offers a simple and comprehensive security solution for workstations, laptops and servers. It integrates innovative technologies like Anti Ransomware, Advanced DNA Scan and Behavior Detection Systems to protect networks. Among the wide range of advanced features like Advanced Device Control, DLP, Vulnerability Scan, Web Filtering, Asset Management it offers, the Patch Management feature offers a way for organizations to manage patches in mixed OS environments.
The Vulnerability Scan feature scans known vulnerabilities of installed applications and operating systems in the network in real time. If a vulnerability is detected, notifications regarding an unpatched OS are sent. The Patch Management tool offers a centralized patch management strategy to remediate all application vulnerability patching needs.
“Patching” the problem
How it works is simple – the administrator initiates patch scan on endpoints. EPS generates a patch list based on severity. The administrator has the option to select the required patches which are then successfully installed. By keeping applications regularly updated, the network is less vulnerable to network attacks.
Read more: Effective Patch Management requires a well-defined strategy
The Dashboard on the EPS solution provides a quick snapshot for administrators regarding the health of the system. Under the “Security” tab on the Dashboard, the Patch Management option provides the number of missing and installed patches by severity. Under the Clients page in the EPS Web console, users also have the option to install missing patches on selected endpoints. A list of missing patches will show with the list filtered according to the following parameters of severity: Critical, Important, Moderate, Low and Unspecified. The results can also be filtered according to the following categories:
- Security Updates which are widely released fixes for a product-specific for a security-specific vulnerability
- Update Rollups which are a tested, cumulative set of hotfixes, security updates, critical updates, and updates that are packaged together for easy deployment
- Applications which employs the capabilities of a computer directly and thoroughly to a task that the user wishes to perform
- Service Packs which are a tested, cumulative set of all hotfixes, security updates, critical updates, and updatesand which may also contain additional fixes for problems that are found internally since the release of the product
- Feature Packs that produce new functionality for a product
- Updates which are code fixes for a product when problems have been detected with them
- Definition Updates which contain additions to a product’s definition database
- Critical Updates which address critical, non-security bugs
- Drivers which are software that control the input and output of a device
The results can also be filtered according to the Restart Required and EULA status options.
Hence it is quite clear that Seqrite’s Endpoint Security (EPS) offers a comprehensive solution to solve an organization’s patch management woes. By offering comprehensive endpoint and data protection in one integrated solution, it offers higher scalability and enhanced security for the Windows and Mac platforms.
As an IT security partner for your business, Seqrite provides comprehensive security from advanced cyber threats. To know more
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