M_Security Update Management : FAQ

What happens if a system is not updated due to staff absence (e.g. holidays or sickness)?

The system must be updated as soon as the staff member returns and before being used to access any organisational data or services. 

Some of our devices no longer receive firmware updates, but are still getting security patches on a biannual schedule. Would the security patch be enough to pass an audit or does the device have to be fully supported.

This would be still considered a regular update, so it would be compliant with the standard and would pass the audit as long as it updated.

We have a large window estate, and our inventory tooling is showing a handful of out of date Windows version because these employees are out on sick leave and have not turned their devices on and connected to automatically receive the updates. How should this be handled when submitting the Cyber Essentials Questionnaire? Can we exclude these devices?

This would be similar to a furloughed employee:
A furloughed employee's device is considered not currently in use and therefore not connected to internet or used for business purposes - they can be considered out of scope. However as soon as the employee returns, the device needs to be updated or replaced, and CE controls put in place, before it can be used by the employee.

What does "supported" mean in the context of open source software?

Licensed and supported software is software that you have a legal right to use and that a vendor has committed to support by providing regular updates or patches. The vendor must provide the future date when they will stop providing updates. (Note that the vendor doesn’t need to have created the software originally, but they must be able to now modify the original software to create updates).  Open Source software is acceptable as long as regular security updates are made available and there is a published end of life date.

What is the definition for an out of support application. If the vendor has not officially stopped supporting an application?

"Supported' in this context means that the vendor is providing regular security updates and has published the date at which these updates will stop being provided.

What about software where the vendor gives no indication about support periods, and where no new release has happened in a year or two?

That would be considered as unsupported and up to the applicant to prove otherwise if they disagree.

Some devices rely on operating systems and software that is no longer supported but these devices are essential to carry out key tasks. Can you suggest a way to make such devices compliant or can they never attain Cyber Essentials certification?

The devices themselves would never be compliant for CE. A common approach in this scenario is put them into a subset and then cut all inbound and outbound Internet connections at the boundary of that subset. Many organizations that have these sort of unsupported operating systems (for example, in the case of medical equipment). The devices can still communicate across that boundary to in-scope devices, but all inbound and outbound Internet connections must be blocked at the subset boundary.

If a firewall's last firmware update was 6 months ago, would this fail as it is no longer supported by the vendor? 

The requirement is only that the update must be applied within 14 days. So as long as the vendor still supports the firewall and it receives regular security updates then it would be compliant.
If a firewall has not had any new firmware updates  after 6 months, check with the supplier if the device is still supported.  Due to the number of vulnerabailites being discovered, vendors are increasing the frequency of firmware updates.  

 For BYOD, is it mandatory for people to have automatic updates enabled?

Automatic updates should be enabled where possible is the requirment.  A manual update process is allowable but he updates must be applied within 14 days.  For BYOD devices using the built in option to use auto updating is the easiest option to keep these devices compliant. 

How do we enforce BYOD to ensure all OS updates are installed and on the latest OS?

There are MDM systems available that can automatically block non-compliant devices from accessing networks, and you can use this technical control along with a policy to ensure that any BYOD devices accessing the network are up to date.