The importance of patch management processes and metrics in the field of cybersecurity cannot be overstated. For chief information security officers (CISOs), tracking and demonstrating the value of their work in this area is crucial. However, it can be challenging to communicate the significance of individual patches to company leadership. Instead, focusing on patching and remediation over time can reveal specific business and security problems that demand attention. By tracking the right metrics, CISOs can not only improve their team’s performance but also showcase their value to the business.
One commonly reviewed metric among CISOs is mean time to remediate (MTTR), which measures the average time it takes to implement a patch into production after its announcement. While MTTR provides an overall measure of how quickly changes can be made, it lacks detail and does not highlight any issues that may arise during the patching process. Additionally, it treats critical security vulnerabilities and minor issues equally, which can be misleading. Some CISOs choose to track MTTR separately for critical issues, demonstrating their prioritization and swift handling of serious problems. Another challenge is that fixing a single problem often requires deploying multiple patches, making configuration changes, and modifying registry keys. As a result, the metric may not accurately reflect the complexity and extent of the patching process.
One CISO even renamed MTTR to “mean time to reboot” to emphasize the importance of completing the patching process, which sometimes involves system reboots. In certain cases, shutting down critical systems outside specific downtime windows can negatively impact overall security. Redefining the metric as “reboot” clarifies when the team has successfully finished the patching process and enables company leadership to grasp the implications of these efforts.
In addition to MTTR, there are other valuable metrics to consider. Mean time to detect (MTTD) measures how quickly a team can identify and report the current patching status, especially when new issues are released. This metric showcases the team’s ability to promptly translate newly released issues into internal reports. Mean time to prioritize (MTTP) evaluates the team’s efficiency in deciding which issues should be treated as critical risks and which can be addressed in due time. Given the sheer number of patches and updates, it is crucial for security teams to prioritize the most significant risks rather than attempting to address every potential problem. Finally, mean time to communicate (MTTC) assesses how quickly the security organization can collaborate with other departments or teams involved in implementing updates. Effective communication across teams is vital for efficient and timely deployments, particularly in large enterprises with multiple teams responsible for different areas of technology. By tracking MTTC, IT security can identify areas for improvement and promote better collaboration.
Furthermore, the metrics mentioned above can uncover potential issues within the business, such as conflicting priorities among teams or teams not taking responsibility for specific issues. MTTC can shed light on these challenges and provide an opportunity for the entire company to improve. It also highlights the importance of aligning multiple teams around incentives that prioritize security and risk management.
Demonstrating the value of security to the business requires continuous tracking of patching and remediation success rates. This information not only assesses the effectiveness of risk management and IT security processes but also opens up discussions about broader security attitudes. It emphasizes the need for security involvement in the software supply chain and development lifecycle, as well as the importance of collaboration to ensure secure processes and workflows. However, for these metrics to be effective, they must be adopted across the entire organization. The CISO and the CIO need to come to an agreement and implement these metrics throughout all teams. Additionally, any challenges caused by deploying patches faster than IT/ops teams would prefer must be addressed. Lastly, automating the patching process should be a priority, allowing everyone to focus on risk mitigation. This is a collective challenge that involves the entire company, not just the CISO. By implementing the right metrics, the value of security can be clearly demonstrated over time.