“It still works fine” is one of the most common reasons a business gives for not updating a piece of software, and it’s also exactly the assumption attackers rely on. Software updates aren’t just new features and a fresh coat of paint; a large proportion of them exist specifically to close security holes that have already been discovered, and in some cases are already being actively exploited elsewhere before a business gets round to installing the fix.
Week Three of our Cyber Security Awareness Month series is about the risk that’s easiest to overlook, because unlike a suspicious email, an out-of-date system doesn’t announce itself.
Why patching matters more than it looks like it should
When a vulnerability is discovered in an operating system, application, or piece of network hardware, the vendor typically releases a patch to fix it, and publishes some detail about what the vulnerability was. That’s useful for defenders, but it’s just as useful for attackers, who can reverse-engineer the fix to work out exactly how to exploit any system that hasn’t installed it yet. The gap between “patch released” and “patch installed everywhere” is one of the most reliably exploited windows in cyber security, and it’s entirely within a business’s control to close it quickly.
The systems people forget
It’s rarely the main office laptop that gets missed. It’s more often:
- Older servers or applications that are “working, so left alone”
- Network devices like firewalls and routers, which are easy to forget once installed
- Software that’s reached end of life and no longer receives security updates at all, even if it still technically runs
Software that’s reached end of life is a particular risk, because no matter how well everything else is configured, there’s no fix coming for any vulnerability discovered in it from that point on. If any part of your business still relies on something in this category, it’s worth treating as a priority, not a “someday” task.
Where proactive monitoring earns its keep
Keeping every device and system patched manually, across every laptop, server and piece of network kit in a growing business, isn’t realistic without some automation behind it. This is where remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools come in: they give an IT team visibility across the whole estate, flag devices that have fallen behind on updates, and can often apply patches automatically outside of working hours so nothing sits vulnerable for longer than necessary.
Alongside patching, up-to-date endpoint protection adds a second layer, watching for the kind of unusual activity that suggests an exploit is being attempted even on a system that hasn’t been patched yet, and stopping it before it spreads.
Three practical steps
1. List anything in your business still running end-of-life software and treat replacing or upgrading it as a priority, not a background task.
2. Check firewalls and network hardware are included in your patching routine, not just laptops and servers.
3. Ask whether patching is happening proactively or reactively in your business. If it depends on someone remembering, it’s a gap worth closing.
How Information Solutions can help
Our remote monitoring and management service keeps a continuous eye on the health and patch status of devices across your organisation, catching issues before they become downtime, alongside endpoint protection to cover what patching alone can’t. If you’re not sure how up to date your current setup really is, we’re happy to take a look.