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28 Security Dealer & Integrator / www.SecurityInfoWatch.com October 2016 I s the soware on your smart- phone up to date? It is likely the answer is yes, because most are set up to automati- cally update OS soware and apps as they are released. is ensures bug fixes, new features and, most importantly, security improvements, are installed efficiently. As we all know, hackers and cyber criminals are relentless in their repeated — and in some cases highly organized and sophisticated — attempts to breach networks and access sensitive data. One of the easiest paths of entry for hackers are soware vulnerabilities, which is due in large part to the human tendency to ignore, delay or otherwise fail to update their devices' and systems' soware. is risk is compounded by two common characteristics among the The Benefits s The Benefits of of Automated Automated of Automated VMS Updates Potential RMR is just a side effect of ensuring your customers' software is safe By Ken LaMarca Video Surveillance majority of hackers: their desire to brag about successes and to impress peers; and the availability of hacked data online. us, when a soware vulnerability is discovered, it will likely be shared online. A simple Google search revels entire sites dedicated to providing lengthy and updated lists of known loopholes in various so- ware. is information allows for more widespread efforts to locate and exploit these vulnerabilities. Soware providers are well aware of this risk, and are equally relentless in their efforts to close these "open doors" with security patches delivered in reg- ular updates. In the security industry, we rely heavily on soware for access control, identity management, video surveillance, communications and many other security and safety func- tions. e question is, are we actually installing these updates to keep the so- ware that drives these critical systems as current — and secure — as possible? Unfortunately, the answer is oen no, according to a number of cybersecu- rity firms. For example, a recent study determined that soware fixes had been available that could have prevented nearly all of the network soware vul- nerabilities detected over the last year. Worse still, many of these fixes had been available for up to five years but simply had not been installed — unacceptable given the vital role of security. Exposing your customers' security to the risks associated with soware that is out of date is also entirely unnecessary. Soware implemented for professional security applications should always have scheduled updates built into mainte- nance and/or service schedules. Keeping VMS soware up to date is vital to physical, and oen network security; however, no amount of updates will be effective if they are not installed regularly. To address the challenges associated with maintaining up-to-date solutions, new VMS solutions include the same auto-update capabilities found in smartphones to ensure that users will always be running the most current and most secure version. As an added bonus, some solutions offer auto-update in con- junction with other features designed to expedite system updates, deliver more efficient recording and help protect sys- tems from cyber attacks. Five Benefits of Automated VMS Updates VMS auto-updates enable integrators to ensure their customers' soware is always current, vulnerabilities are closed and security systems are protected from intrusion; thus reversing the trend of users and/or integrators failing to install updates to critical security and other soware. As a result, today's VMS can be indeed as smart as our phones. Automated VMS soware updates deliver significant benefits for both inte- grators and end-users in five key ways: