Unpatched software may allow an attacker to exploit publicly known vulnerabilities to gain access to sensitive information, launch a denial-of-service attack, or take control of a system. This is one of the most commonly found poor security practices.

The most serious and neglected vulnerability is lack of patching. Nine out of ten successful hacks are waged against unpatched computers. Anti-virus/anti-malware is absolutely critical. But these tools only block known attacks. More and more hackers go after vulnerabilities that haven’t been discovered, or if found, haven’t yet been plugged.

Unpatched software refers to applications or systems that contain known vulnerabilities that have not yet been addressed through the implementation of updates or patches. These vulnerabilities, if exploited, can potentially lead to a compromise of the affected system’s security.

IT systems that are out-of-date and unpatched provide a serious risk to companies of all sizes. One of the major threats is that fraudsters could use software flaws to access your systems without authorization.