What the financial community needs to know…

In the past, Microsoft’s Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) once deployed would keep an organization relatively secure and the examiners satisfied but has this changed? Can a proactive patch management solution really boost employee productivity and increase profits?  ABSOLUTELY!  The rise of malicious code, system connectivity, and regulatory compliance has placed a significant burden on the end user and their organization.  An effective patch management solution is no longer an added value but is being recognized as a baseline for the effective delivery of technology resources to the organization.  If not successfully deployed and delivered, banks will absorb a great risk of financial, data, productivity, and compliance.

As with many technology management solutions present in today’s organizations, few offer the complete coverage required to require only one system or company’s solution.  Microsoft’s WSUS platform is no different, a tool to be considered as part of a larger vulnerability management process. According to Gartner Technology Research Analyst, Ronni J. Colville,   “Although Microsoft has improved WSUS, client feedback suggests that WSUS is not as rich in content and as robust in targeting and reporting as the focused patch solutions…Although Microsoft is making improvements to WSUS, we do not believe it will be a best-of-breed solution for patch management”.

WSUS key limitations in today’s organizations:

• No third party patching for application likes Adobe, Java, Flash, Real Player, and Firefox.
• No protection of non-domain systems and requires local agents on each system.
• Reboot control is limited and reporting capabilities leaves much to be desired from an audit perspective.
• No patching available for legacy Microsoft applications and operating systems.