Why enterprise patch administration pains are cybercriminals’ achieve

Enterprises that procrastinate about implementing software program patch administration give cybercriminals extra time to weaponize new endpoint attack strategies.

A transparent majority (71%) of IT and safety professionals see patching as overly advanced, cumbersome, and time-consuming. As well as, 57% of those self same professionals say distant work and decentralized workspaces make a difficult process much more troublesome. Sixty-two % admit that patch administration takes a backseat to different duties; system stock and manually based mostly approaches to patch administration aren’t maintaining.

IT integrator Ivanti’s report on patch management challenges, revealed on October 7, supplies new insights into the rising variety of vulnerabilities enterprises face by dragging their toes about bettering patch administration. Most troubling is how cybercriminals attempt to capitalize on these patch administration weaknesses on the endpoint stage by weaponizing vulnerabilities, particularly these with distant code execution and quick-hit ransomware assaults.

Ivanti surveyed greater than 500 enterprise IT and safety professionals throughout North America, Europe, the Center East, and Africa. The outcomes are startling in why and the way usually patches get pushed again, leaving enterprises extra susceptible to breaches.

The excessive value of gradual patch administration

The survey discovered that 14% of the enterprises interviewed (70 of 500) have skilled a monetary hit price between $100,000 to greater than $1 million to their companies within the final 12 months that might have been averted with higher patch administration. The Institute for Security and Technology discovered that victims compelled to pay a ransom elevated greater than 300% from 2019 to 2020. In keeping with its Internet Crime Report, the FBI discovered that the collective cost of the ransomware attacks reported to the bureau in 2020 amounted to about $29.1 million, up greater than 200% from $8.9 million the 12 months earlier than. The White Home recently released a memo encouraging organizations to make use of a risk-based evaluation technique to drive patch administration and bolster cybersecurity towards ransomware assaults.

Not getting patching proper can have disastrous penalties, because the WannaCry ransomware assault demonstrated. This was a worldwide cyberattack surfacing in Could 2017 that focused computer systems operating Microsoft Home windows by encrypting information and demanding ransom funds within the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

With greater than 200,000 gadgets encrypted in 150 nations, WannaCry supplies a stark reminder of why patch administration must be a excessive precedence. A patch for the vulnerability exploited by the ransomware had existed for a number of months earlier than the preliminary assault, but many organizations did not implement it. Because of this, enterprises nonetheless fall sufferer to WannaCry ransomware assaults right now. There was a 53% increase in the number of organizations affected by WannaCry ransomware from January to March 2021.

Usually, the line-of-business house owners throughout an enterprise stress IT and safety groups to place off pressing patches as a result of their techniques can’t be introduced down with none affect on income. Sixty-one % of IT and safety professionals say that enterprise house owners ask for exceptions or push again upkeep home windows as soon as 1 / 4 as a result of their techniques can’t be introduced down. As well as, 60% mentioned that patching causes workflow disruption to customers. Whereas enterprises gradual the tempo of patch deployments, cybercriminals speed up vulnerability weaponization efforts.

Enterprises wrestle to regulate new cyberattacks

Many IT and safety groups at the moment are stretched skinny and wrestle to regulate the numerous new assault floor dangers their enterprises face. Ivanti’s survey exhibits that IT and safety groups aren’t in a position to reply shortly sufficient to avert breaches. For instance, 53% mentioned that organizing and prioritizing crucial vulnerabilities takes up most of their time, adopted by issuing resolutions for failed patches (19%), testing patches (15%), and coordinating with different departments (10%).

The myriad challenges that IT and safety groups face concerning patching could also be why 49% of IT and safety professionals imagine their firm’s present patch administration protocols fail to mitigate danger successfully.

Like enterprises, cybercriminals recruit new expertise to assist devise new approaches to weaponizing vulnerability strategies they see working. That’s why enterprises should outline a patch administration technique that scales past system stock and manually based mostly approaches that take an excessive amount of time to get proper. With ransomware having a document 12 months, enterprises want to search out new methods to automate patch administration at scale now.