Following the lead of Microsoft and Oracle, Cisco Systems will start releasing security patches for some of its products on a schedule.
The scheduled updates will be for the Internetwork Operating System (IOS) software used by routers and switches that Cisco sells to enterprise and telecommunications industry customers. Other Cisco products, including those from its Linksys division, will continue to be updated as before.
The first of these scheduled updates will occur on Wednesday, March 26, and Cisco will continue to release patches on a twice-yearly schedule after that, Cisco said in a note posted Wednesday on its Web site. These firmware updates will ship on the fourth Wednesday of September and March each year.
That's less frequently than the other major vendors that have moved to regular security updates. Microsoft releases its security patches on the second Tuesday of every month; Oracle is on a quarterly update schedule.
Cisco published eight security advisories for IOS security bugs last year. IOS has come under increased scrutiny in recent years as hackers have developed new ways of attacking router software. Because Cisco's routers are so widely used, IOS is considered to be an attractive target for attackers.
Like other companies that have adopted predictable patch schedules, Cisco says it wants to make life easier for its enterprise customers, who can set aside time to test and roll out the patches.
"Our customers ... are asking us to reduce the amount of 'flux' in their networks by bundling patches for multiple security vulnerabilities," the company said in a statement.
- Sponsored Resource:Are you ready for virtualization? Try the sever assessment tool.
- Sponsored Resource:Stay at home servers. Learn more about a home server for your family.
- Sponsored Resource:Get the communications, data, and security a business needs in one neat package. Learn more.
- Sponsored Resource:Learn more about ultra light notebooks from Asus and the best warranty in the industry.
- Sponsored Resource:Thinking about a new Laptop? Lenovo has models to meet everyone's needs.
- Sponsored Resource:Get the truth about remanufactured ink. Learn more from HP.
- Sponsored Resource:Six smart ways to grow small business IT
News For Your Business
- Control Freaks: Network Admins Can Spell Trouble
- Look Out, Cisco: Here Comes Brocade/Foundry
- Attack Code Released for New DNS Attack
- Parts of San Francisco Network Still Locked out
- Complex Network Access Control Slows Deployments
Community Comments