Patch Management

Patch management is arguably one of the most important things for a network or security administrator to do as well as possibly one of the most logistically difficult to accomplish. Vendors release new vulnerability announcements along with patches to fix the flaws on a regular basis. Every patch that isn't applied is a potential security risk that can be exploited. But, deploying a patch or patches across an enterprise of hundreds or thousands of computers- especially if the patch requires a reboot to take effect- is a daunting task. Jason Chan of @Stake has written the following paper to help managers and administrators understand the issues behind patch management and how to handle them: Essentials of Patch Management Policy and Practice.