As we wrap up Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM) 2022, the final topic we’ll cover is updating software and patching vulnerabilities. According to the 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) from Verizon one of the top paths threat actors use to infiltrate organizations is exploiting vulnerabilities. And there appears to be no end in sight as the number of unique security vulnerabilities rose almost 10% in 2021, up to 20,142 from 18,351 in 2020.

New research from the Ponemon Institute uncovers a troubling trend when it comes to risk management. That is, organizations are simply not patching software vulnerabilities fast enough to keep up with the demand for remediation. This can lead to cybersecurity attacks that could spell trouble for businesses as they try to ward off incidents that result in significant damage to their operations.

Something as common and widely known as a software update can prevent major cyberattacks from happening, as they incorporate patches that fix system vulnerabilities. Prioritizing updates may seem a burdensome and inconvenient task for users, because computers and servers have to restart to perform installation, which interrupts users when they are working.

Organizations are always concerned with improving efficiencies to make business flow smoother. Some of the biggest inefficiencies in any business revolve around time wasted on operational tasks. Whether it is a stale accounting process, or something as trivial as routing phone calls to the proper department, saving time by improving a process can mean more profits, which is what business is all about.