Understanding Virtual Patching and Its Necessity

Virtual patching addresses the vulnerabilities present in mission-critical IoT and OT devices that often cannot be patched through traditional means due to operational constraints. Challenges arise from the need to link various data sources regarding vulnerabilities, which systems they affect, and how exploitative they are. This complexity leads to difficulties in creating a coherent action plan that prioritizes security measures effectively. Virtual patching emerges as a solution by allowing vulnerabilities to be mitigated at the network level without requiring device downtime, thus ensuring continuous system operation.