A junior administrator suggests configuring the company's patch management system to automatically deploy all security patches to production systems immediately upon release from vendors. They argue this will minimize the window of exposure to new threats. Which of the following is the BEST reason to advise against this policy?
Applying patches immediately consumes excessive network bandwidth during business hours.
Untested patches can introduce new bugs, cause system instability, or create conflicts with existing software, potentially leading to operational downtime.
Vendors often release faulty patches and recall them within the first 24 hours.
Automatic patching prevents security teams from properly documenting the changes in the system.
The correct answer highlights the primary risk of deploying patches without prior evaluation. Untested patches can introduce new bugs, create software or hardware incompatibilities, and cause system instability, which may lead to significant operational disruptions and downtime. While other concerns like bandwidth consumption, patch documentation, and occasional vendor recalls are valid, the direct risk of causing system failures is the most critical reason for testing patches in a non-production environment before a full rollout.
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Why is it important to test patches before deploying them to production systems?
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What is a patch management system?
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How can an organization test patches safely before rolling them out?