asset management

Open Patch Management Metrics Model Released

Securosis and Microsoft have teamed up and released an Open Patch Management Metrics Model. The purpose of this model is to  “provide organizations with a tool to better understand their patching costs.” The model also has ten steps with multiple substeps to help guide an organization through a patch management process framework.

The document can be found on the Securosis website. More information will be released as the model matures and additional organizations contribute to the research. Let the ITKE community know your thoughts on this model and if the metrics are meaningful to your organization.

For myself, I think that the metrics would be good to gather but would be a challenge to maintain when we are always being challenged to do more with less.

Thanks for reading & let’s continue to be good network citizens!

The Conficker Analysis - are you ready for April 1?

There is a feeling in the infosec community that Conficker may change its behavior April 1 and wreak havoc. Headlines have included:

ComputerWorld: Conficker’s next move a mystery to researchers

Computer Reseller News: Conficker Worm to Strike April 1

USA Today: PC security forces face April 1 showdown with Conficker worm

Here’s a great analysis of the Conficker variants and some details to show what to be concerned about.

Take a look at this guidance from Microsoft on Conficker.A and Conficker.B. You need to get the MS08-067 (KB958644) patch rolled out as soon as you can to your machines.

Good luck and if there is a big outbreak on your network, break the internet connection or shutdown the machines until you get them checked & updated. Don’t be afraid to shut things down to get them cleaned up. Then… once you do get things cleaned up and can estimate the time it took… figure out how much you could have saved and look at purchasing a good asset management system like Windows Systems Center Configuration Manager to push out patches and fixes to your devices.

Thanks for reading & let’s continue to be good network citizens.