IT 140 - Software Patch Management
Number: IT 140
Effective: December 1, 2016
Department: Information Technology
Last Revision: January 17, 2017

Purpose

To provide support for academics and the business of CWI by keeping software utilized by CWI up to date and patched with the most current updates as approved for deployment on the CWI network.

Scope

Applies to all software on all servers and workstations utilized by users.

Definition

User: Anyone who uses CWI’s information technology resources, even if they have no responsibility for managing the resources. This includes students, faculty, staff, contractors, consultants, and temporary employees.

Policy 

Software is utilized on all servers and workstations to provide the applications utilized by users for academics and the day to day activities of CWI and for the systems that support the business critical applications. Updates to this software are provided by manufacturers to address known issues and security flaws. The software is released periodically and CWI’s IT Department will review the provided updates and plan appropriately for the installation of approved patches.

Guidelines 

  • Software patch management is the responsibility of the IT Department.
  • Patch Management will be controlled from a central location using software that can manage the patch installations and schedule automatic installation of approved patches to workstations.
  • The IT Department will review all patches and approve any updates prior to the update being scheduled.
  • The IT Department will monitor patch releases for any updates that may require immediate attention to address a known security issue.
  • Software patches and updates will be installed on client workstations with no notification to the User.