Why are so many businesses struggling to patch?

If recent ransomware attacks like WannaCry have taught us anything, it is that a lot of organisations are being left vulnerable to viruses and other forms of cybercrime as they do not have the time, money or technical expertise needed to patch their IT software flaws.

It is currently up to organisations to patch software regularly and keep their IT systems up to date. But many of them – especially small businesses – struggle to do this. Here’s why…

Lack of money (and control)

Small businesses often have little budget when it comes to IT security systems. Rather than employing an in-house expert, they might choose to outsource this responsibility to third parties, which results in them having very little control over whether patching takes place.

Not enough resources

In many cases, small businesses do not have enough resources to update their systems each week, or, indeed, the knowledge required to troubleshoot any errors that happen to occur.

Operations over security

Sometimes, businesses may choose to forgo patching to ensure that their IT operations run smoothly. This may be the case during busy periods for retailers, for example – if patching is going to interrupt their customers’ online shopping experiences, then they might not do it.

What’s the solution?

For organisations with small budgets, limited resources and little IT security expertise, it is important to work with a reputable IT provider that is aligned with your business needs and that offers regular patching. For your own peace of mind, find out what systems you have in place and how they’re running. At the very least, you need to run regular backups, carry out data backup integrity testing and create (and regularly review) a solid disaster recovery plan.

In the long run, it would be ideal for software to be made more secure in the first place as, then, organisations would not have to worry about constantly updating and patching it.

Here at Dragon IS, we deliver expert IT solutions like patching to keep your systems safe. For more information, read our Cyber Security Guide for SMBs or simply contact us today.