How a security audit uncovered unexpected weaknesses in patch management - and was the start of a sustainable security strategy.
Many Managed Service Providers (MSPs) - or those who are about to become one - are familiar with the situation: there are many open construction sites, patch management is “somehow running along”. But a closer look suddenly reveals missing updates, faulty processes or undiscovered security gaps.
This is exactly what happened to an existing lywand partner:
As an established MSP, they were convinced that they were solidly securing their customers' IT infrastructures. But a security check with lywand revealed: missing updates, inconsistent processes - and patch management that did not work as reliably as originally thought. A clear case for a strategic change of direction - before things became critical.
Instead of focusing only on individual, affected customers, the management decided to integrate all customers into the platform - to get a complete picture. A decision with foresight.
The Security Cockpit from lywand offers exactly that: a cross-customer overview that shows where the most urgent need for action exists - and which measures have the greatest leverage for the security situation.
In this case, it turned out that most of the measures concerned patch management - across several products. These were automatically sorted according to urgency and provided with clear step-by-step instructions, for example for rectifying misconfigurations. This turned a vague gut feeling into a clearly prioritized implementation plan.
An Overview of the Functions
Cross-customer analysis: Identify security-relevant problems that affect several customer environments.
Prioritization by urgency: Focus on the measures with the greatest security impact.
Action guides for technicians: Detailed step-by-step instructions for efficient elimination of vulnerabilities.
Our partner implemented the recommended measures step by step - with clear prioritization and well-founded information. This resulted in a scalable process and customers benefited from a significantly higher level of security:
Creation of a solid security foundation with comprehensive patch coverage for managed systems
Sustainable improvement in the security situation for all customers, thereby increasing customer confidence
Significantly improved responsiveness in day-to-day business when new security gaps occur & therefore easier to maintain a consistently high level of security
Scalable processes - The integration of all customers turned individual solutions into a sustainable security strategy
The biggest learning from the project: you don't have to solve everything at once - but start where it counts. Thanks to the comprehensive overview and prioritization according to security impact, the MSP was able to proceed in a controlled and gradual manner instead of getting lost in individual measures.
The Security Cockpit helped to improve the security status across the board - and at the same time implement far-reaching optimizations in patch management.
Even if patch management is currently not running smoothly or other issues are in focus, it is worth taking a look at your customers' security situation right now. If you take a closer look, you will often recognize not only individual errors, but also patterns: processes that do not work properly, systems that skip updates unnoticed, or automations that only appear to work reliably.
The Security Cockpit makes it possible to find out where the greatest leverage lies in order to sustainably improve the security situation of all customers with a manageable amount of effort. Gaining an overview at this moment not only saves a lot of time in everyday life, but also creates a basis on which security can be reliably developed further.
