Overview#
Process of acquiring, testing, and deploying updates to software and systems. Reduces exploitable vulnerabilities and supports compliance baselines.
Core objectives#
- Establish shared definitions of Patch Management for security, engineering, and leadership teams.
- Connect Patch Management activities to measurable risk reduction and resilience goals.
- Provide onboarding notes so new team members can quickly understand how Patch Management works here.
Implementation notes#
- Identify the primary owner for Patch Management, the data sources involved, and the systems affected.
- Document the minimum viable process, tooling, and runbooks that keep Patch Management healthy.
- Map Patch Management practices to standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF, or CIS Controls.
Operational signals#
- Leading indicators: early warnings that Patch Management might degrade (e.g., backlog growth, noisy alerts, or missed SLAs).
- Lagging indicators: realized impact that shows Patch Management failed or needs investment (e.g., incidents, audit findings).
- Feedback loops: retrospectives and metrics reviews that tune Patch Management continuously.
Related practices#
- Align Patch Management with defense-in-depth planning, threat modeling, and disaster recovery tests.
- Communicate updates to stakeholders through concise briefs, dashboards, and internal FAQs.
- Pair Patch Management improvements with tabletop exercises to validate expectations.