Patch Management
Patch management keeps systems secure, stable, and reliably up to date.
For developers: it’s a process.
For businesses: protection against known vulnerabilities.
For auditors: a requirement.
And for us: a natural part of responsible IT operations.
Why is patch management important?
Security flaws emerge constantly – from new threats and long-standing bugs.
Many attacks don’t exploit “zero days” but use known vulnerabilities.
An unpatched system isn’t a technical glitch – it’s a calculated risk.
- Exploitation of known vulnerabilities as an entry point has nearly tripled and contributed to 14% of breaches. (Verizon, 2024)
- 28% of successful cyberattacks exploit known vulnerabilities, while 24% rely on zero-day or unknown flaws. (ENISA, 2024)
- On average, organizations take 55 days to patch half of all critical vulnerabilities after fixes are available. (Foster, 2024)
- GDPR (Article 32) explicitly requires the use of “state of the art” measures – including timely patching of known issues. (GDPR, 2016)
What does patch management involve?
It’s more than just “applying updates”:
- Monitoring for new patches and advisories
- Assessment & approval based on severity
- Testing in staging environments
- Planned maintenance windows – aligned with operations
- Documentation & logging – for compliance and auditability
The goal: introduce updates safely – with no surprises.
Smart automation – with control
Automatic updates are helpful – but not always risk-free.
Our approach:
- Security patches are applied quickly and systematically
- Feature updates are rolled out in controlled windows
- Rollback strategies are in place – just in case
Speed without control isn’t a benefit.
How we handle patch management at RiKuWe
Patch management is part of our standard operating procedures:
- We evaluate, prioritize, and document updates
- Critical patches are applied automatically – securely and transparently
- Clients stay informed – without having to take action themselves
No “let’s hope nothing breaks.”
Just a system that takes care of itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is patch management?
Patch management is the structured process of keeping systems secure, stable, and up to date – including evaluation, approval, testing, and documentation.
Why isn’t auto-updating enough?
Auto-updates are helpful but risky – e.g., due to incompatibilities or lack of oversight. Professional patch management reviews, prioritizes, and logs every update.
How often should systems be patched?
Critical security patches should be applied as soon as possible – often within a few days. Feature updates follow scheduled maintenance cycles, usually weekly or monthly.
What if a patch causes issues?
Good patch management includes rollback strategies – e.g., snapshots or backups. For us, that’s part of every update plan.
Is patch management important for small businesses too?
Absolutely. Smaller businesses are often less resilient to outages or attacks. Patch management protects against known threats and ensures reliable operations.
Learn more about how we implement patch management
Managed Hosting at RiKuWe
Hosting for businesses
References
- Verizon. (2024). 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report. Verizon Business. Retrieved May 17, 2025, from Verizon
- European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA). (2024). ENISA Threat Landscape 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2025, from ENISA
- Foster, C. (2024, May 1). CVE exploitation tripled in 2023: Verizon DBIR. Cybersecurity Dive. Retrieved May 17, 2025, from Cybersecurity Dive
- European Union. (2016). Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR) – Article 32: Security of processing. Retrieved May 17, 2025, from EUR-Lex
