Cybersecurity Awareness Month | Core 4 habit: know what you run, patch what you know

This post is part of our Cybersecurity Awareness Month series, built around four core themes. Read the posts about reporting scams and MFA via SSO. Next up: software updates.

Exploiting unpatched software is now the most common way attackers get in: 31% of breaches in Verizon's 2026 DBIR, the first time in the report's 19 years that it beats stolen credentials. The report also says AI is shrinking the time between a vulnerability going public and an attack from months to hours. Meanwhile, the median time to fully patch went up, from 32 to 43 days. You can't patch what you can't see, so this habit starts with knowing what you run.

Start with what's yours to patch

If you're on TOPdesk SaaS, we update TOPdesk for you, every week. On the Virtual Appliance, updating TOPdesk is your job. Either way, the bigger question is everything else in your organization: laptops, servers, network gear and software.

How to set it up

1. Register what you have. Give every laptop, server and application an asset card in Asset Management. Add a version field to the asset template, so you can see which version runs where, not just that something exists.
2. Let a source fill the data. TOPdesk can import assets from Lansweeper (it needs the Lansweeper Cloud version) or Microsoft Intune. Go to Settings > Import settings > Asset Management imports > Imports. Intune fits if you manage laptops and phones through Microsoft. Lansweeper fits if you also want to scan servers and network devices. One of the two is enough. If Intune isn't listed as a source type, your Account Manager can tell you what's needed.
3. Make outdated software easy to find. Save an overview of assets running an old version, so nobody has to go looking.
4. Turn the list into a routine. Create a Change template for your regular patch round, with an owner and a standing cadence. Monthly is common. Add a recurring activity in Operations Management so someone starts it on time.
5. Spot patterns. If the same software keeps falling behind, open a Problem and fix the cause.

Stuck on a step? Search the My TOPdesk knowledge base or check the Documentation Portal.

The most common miss

A list of outdated software that nobody owns and nothing has a date on. Visibility alone doesn't patch anything. An owner and a deadline do.

A note on NIS2 and DORA

If NIS2 or DORA applies to your organization, TOPdesk can support the processes behind compliance, like incident handling and asset management. No tool makes you compliant on its own, and TOPdesk is no exception. Read more about it on this page (Dutch only).
 

Your turn

Do you know what software runs in your organization, is the data updated automatically, and does someone own the patch round? One more post in the Core 4 is on its way. In the meantime, how does your setup look? Tell us in the comments.