Qualys has announced the integration of zero-touch patching capabilities into Qualys Patch Management. Zero-Touch Patch guarantees that organizations’ endpoints and servers are proactively updated when fixes are available, minimizing their overall attack surface.
The majority of vulnerability remediation entails numerous teams and processes: first, a scanning tool detects vulnerabilities, which are then handed to the patching team for resolution. This is a cause of frustration for businesses, since it necessitates more resources, expenses, and exposure times. Delays in patching are caused by a lack of alignment between vulnerability and patching processes and the manual work necessary for vulnerability repair.
“Qualys Patch Management helps us quickly patch remote systems based on vulnerability-driven priorities without the need for a VPN,” said Surendra Nemani, Head – Security Engineering at Infosys.
Also said, “What’s exciting about the new zero-touch capabilities is the support for third-party apps like Microsoft, Adobe and various browsers. The automation allows us to set up patching in advance, matching patch correlation to prioritized vulnerabilities without the need for the typical back and forth between security and IT teams. It has empowered our platform teams and improved our patch governance efforts. We chose Qualys Patch Management as it is natively integrated into Qualys VMDR and allows cross-platform remediation.”
“Endpoint security needs to concentrate on taking intelligence from detection and response workflows for better prevention, and Qualys is uniquely positioned to leverage both vulnerability and threat intelligence insights in its patching solution,” said Chris Kissel, research director in IDC’s Security & Trust Products Group.
And added, “Cleverly, Qualys’ approach of taking patch remediation a step further with the addition of zero-touch automation eliminates non-caustic threats like always patching Chrome or iTunes. It is a welcome addition that helps companies reduce their attack surface while also freeing up IT and Security resources to focus on more strategic areas.”
Qualys Patch Management makes use of the Qualys Cloud Platform and Cloud Agents to help IT and security teams address vulnerabilities and patch systems fast and efficiently. New intelligent automation allows for the prioritisation of vulnerabilities based on threat indicators like ransomware, the matching of prioritised vulnerabilities with known patches, and a zero-touch “set and forget” feature to proactively patch devices and applications according to predefined policies – all of which leads to increased productivity. For example, a company may make it a policy to maintain Adobe Reader software patched on all employee laptops at all times.
The new capabilitiesenable organizations to:
Qualys Zero-Touch Patch intelligently detects and applies the appropriate fixes and configuration modifications required to address vulnerabilities. After that, it uses Qualys VMDR (Vulnerability Management, Detection, and Response) to prioritise them based on real-time threat indicators including ransomware, active attacks, exploitability, and lateral movement to assist enterprises in reducing cyber risk.
Patching for compliance is automated to assist security teams in adhering to regulatory and internal security regulations. Organizations can focus automation efforts on the items that present the most risks by identifying the riskiest products in the environment. In addition, applying low-risk patches quickly minimises the overall time to remediation, which improves vulnerability SLAs.
Endpoints are patched rapidly and consistently in the cloud, without the need for manual intervention, and regardless of their location or connectivity to a corporate network, lowering the cost of safeguarding a key attack vector. Patching without having to go via a VPN can save you a lot of money.
“With cyberattack volume growing exponentially, integrating automation into your cybersecurity arsenal has moved from a nice to have to a must have,” said Sumedh Thakar, president and CEO of Qualys.
Further added, “As organizations implement zero-trust security frameworks, the ability to automate patching so they can better trust assets becomes a foundational aspect of their cyber defense strategy.”
