Cybercrime is evolving fast, becoming a bigger threat to businesses every day. To stay protected, companies need to strengthen their security and minimize exposure to potential attacks.
A big part of this comes down to vulnerability management and patch management, which work hand in hand. Vulnerability management helps find and address security gaps, while patch management keeps systems up to date to defend against threats. In this article, we’ll break down the differences between these two approaches and share tips on how to better protect your organization.
What is Vulnerability Management
Vulnerability Management can be described as a proactive process that helps companies identify and fix security weaknesses before they lead to data breaches or business disruptions. Since new applications, devices, and system changes can introduce new risks, continuous monitoring is essential.
This process typically involves three key steps: identifying vulnerabilities, prioritizing them, and remediating. There are many vulnerability solutions and scanners on the market to ensure the security of IT systems.
Also, one of the proactive and preventive measures here is the integration of vulnerability management into the corporate cyber defense system. In this way, companies can significantly reduce risks and quickly respond to potential threats.
What is Patch Management
Now, let’s talk about patch management—what is it, and why does it matter? Patch management is a process of applying operating system and software updates to address vulnerabilities, bugs, and performance issues. This process is essential for closing security gaps in a timely manner and reducing the risk of cyberattacks.
Keeping software up to date is one of the most effective ways to prevent security breaches. However, many MSPs and IT professionals don’t always follow this practice as consistently as they should. A lot of breaches occur due to known vulnerabilities that weren’t addressed in time simply because patches weren’t applied.
By integrating patch management into a broader vulnerability management framework, businesses can address vulnerabilities systematically and ensure comprehensive protection against evolving threats.
Further reading Patch Management Processes and Best Practices
Key Differences Between Patch Management and Vulnerability Management
To gain a clearer understanding of how these two methods differ, let’s break them down using the following parameters:
- Scope – Vulnerability management covers the entire risk management process, while patch management specifically addresses remediation through software updates.
- Process – Vulnerability management involves discovering and prioritizing security risks before remediation, whereas patch management primarily executes updates.
- Proactive vs Reactive – Vulnerability management proactively identifies threats, while patch management reacts to known vulnerabilities by applying patches.
Understanding these differences helps organizations develop a more effective security strategy that integrates both practices seamlessly.
Further reading Patch Management with MSP360 RMM
Vulnerability and Patch Management Best Practices
To keep systems secure, it’s important to follow best practices for vulnerability and patch management. Here’s a quick cheat sheet:
- Automate Scanning & Patching – Use tools that regularly scan for vulnerabilities and automate patch deployment to reduce response time.
- Prioritize Critical Vulnerabilities – Focus on addressing high-risk vulnerabilities that pose the greatest threat.
- Maintain Comprehensive Visibility – Keep an updated inventory of assets to ensure all endpoints receive necessary security updates.
- Establish a Regular Update Schedule – Implement consistent patching cycles while remaining flexible for emergency fixes.
How MSP360 RMM Enhances Vulnerability and Patch Management
While RMM solutions like MSP360 RMM are not dedicated vulnerability management tools, they offer essential features that help enhance an overall security. Here’s how MSP360 RMM supports effective patch and vulnerability management:
- Centralized Monitoring and Management: MSP360 RMM offers a centralized dashboard that allows IT teams to monitor all endpoints and their health in real time.
- Patch Management: With MSP360 RMM, IT teams can view and apply missing OS and software updates across all endpoints.
- Group Action Tasks: Instead of managing security and other updates on a device-by-device basis, MSP360 RMM enables bulk operations.
- Proactive Alerting: Customizable, real-time alerts notify IT teams of critical issues, such as high-risk vulnerabilities or system failures.
- Remediation Post-Actions: Predefined scripts can be triggered by specific alerts, resolving issues automatically before manual intervention is required.
- Advanced threat prevention with Deep Instinct integration: Deep Instinct, an AI-driven endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution, is integrated to proactively identify and prevent threats before they can compromise security.
- Built-in Remote Desktop: The included remote desktop tool (MSP360 Managed Connect) allows IT teams to quickly access and resolve security and other issues on client devices.
This way, MSP360 RMM helps organizations streamline their patch and vulnerability management processes, ensuring a more proactive and comprehensive approach to cybersecurity.
If you're already a customer but haven't tried these features yet, follow the link. If you're new to MSP360 RMM, start your 15-day free trial today.
Conclusion
Patch management vs vulnerability management is not a matter of choosing one over the other but rather integrating both to build a robust security strategy. While patch management plays a crucial role in closing security gaps, it is only one component of the broader vulnerability management process. By adopting a comprehensive approach that includes discovery, prioritization, and remediation, businesses can strengthen their defenses and reduce exposure to cyber threats.
Simple. Reliable.
