A phrase that I commonly use in my house is “I can fix that”. I honestly think I’m a decent handy man and that I can handle most projects around the house. Of course, if you ask my wife, she may disagree with my opinion and my kids shiver at the thought of having to help me with one of my “projects”. Yet I know my limitations and one of the areas I stay away from is plumbing. I can do repairs and replacements just fine but how tight is tight enough to avoid leaks? Another thing I learned is that patches may work in some cases but based on my skills I find that replacing is easier that fixing.

Based on the previously discussed experience you can imagine my dislike of software patches as they always seem to change my systems in undetermined ways. My conscious mind and knowledge tell me that based on the current cyberthreat it makes sense to protect me and my organization to the best of our ability. The problem is that cyber criminals are quite clever and on a daily basis there are new threats we need to handle. The solution to that: patches.

“Keeping software up to date with the latest security patches is essential for businesses in a time when cyberthreats are as rampant as they are today. Patch management ensures that all your software is up to date and known vulnerabilities have been remediated.” – John Emmitt

Therefore, while my handy man ego still says: I can fix that, the reality is that if I want to live in a secure environment I have to rely on the experts and ensure that my patches are up to date.