STEALTHbits Launches Patch Validation Index to Measure Difficulty of Verifying Microsoft Patch Deployments

HAWTHORNE, NJ--(Marketwired - Apr 15, 2014) - STEALTHbits Technologies Inc., a leading supplier of unstructured data and Microsoft infrastructure solutions, announced today the launch of a new rating system designed to measure the difficulty of verifying Microsoft Security Bulletin deployments to Windows desktop and server infrastructure. 

STEALTHbits' StealthAUDIT Management Platform has been leveraged by some of the world's largest organizations for over a decade to verify the proper application of Microsoft patches following 'Patch Tuesday' releases. With the launch of the new Patch Validation Index (PVI), STEALTHbits' customers and all organizations will have a monthly point of reference to determine how difficult it is for each Security Bulletin to be verified using conventional methods, such as scripting and manual checks.

"The term 'Patch Management' may no longer have the cache it once had, but it's something that many organizations still struggle with today," says Adam Laub, VP of Marketing for STEALTHbits Technologies. "Pushing the patches really isn't the problem. There are multiple mature offerings available to provision patches across an enterprise, but what organizations encounter problems with is verifying that the patches actually made it to the desired destinations and installed properly. You can't trust your provisioning application to tell you that. It's like asking the chef if the cookies are good."

"We feel that patching is still, and will continue to be, a vital component of every organization's security programs," said Jonathan Sander, Strategy and Research Officer for STEALTHbits Technologies. "It's the blocking and tackling of IT Security. If you aren't patched properly, then you're only as strong as your weakest link."

STEALTHbits began providing a solution to verify Microsoft patch releases in 2003 in order to fill a critical gap in the patch management processes of their first three customers -- the world's largest General Merchandiser, largest Telecommunications provider, and third largest Mail, Package, and Freight Delivery firm. Each organization had multiple patch provisioning frameworks at their disposal, but no way to validate that the patches they pushed were installing properly. As a result, teams within these organizations would work around the clock, often extending into the next month's patch cycle, to ensure the proper patches were installed on each system. The process was time and labor intensive, in addition to error prone and often, incomplete.

Each month, STEALTHbits builds validation routines as plug-in job sets within the StealthAUDIT Management Platform and distributes them to subscribing customers. The validation routines encompass all the proper checks, from operating system, software, file versions, registry values, and more to definitively determine whether or not each patch is installed and taking effect. 

Furthermore, these checks are performed in an entirely agent-less scan, eliminating the need to deploy any code to target systems. The result is near instant verification of patch deployments that save organizations thousands of potential man-hours per year, in addition to drastically mitigating the risk of being subject the exploits the patches are designed to fix, in turn increasing an organization's security posture.

For more information, visit http://www.stealthbits.com/PVI, email sales@stealthbits.com, or call +1-201-447-9300.

ABOUT STEALTHbits Technologies
STEALTHbits Technologies specializes in the management and security of unstructured data. STEALTHbits' solutions bridge the gap between Active Directory and unstructured data repositories, providing a previously unavailable view of how access is being granted and who has access to critical unstructured data resources like File Systems and SharePoint.

With this enhanced visibility, organizations of any size can efficiently and confidently:

• Identify, Isolate, and Remediate Open Access Risks
• Address high-visibility projects and initiatives like Identity & Access Management, and Active Directory Optimization and Consolidation
• Fulfill Audit & Compliance requirements across multiple standards
• Obtain complete visibility into where and how access has been granted
  
  

Visit www.stealthbits.com for more information.