A graph recently released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows that for the fifth year in a row, there have been a record-breaking number of reported vulnerabilities.
The number of high severity vulnerabilities dropped slightly, from 4,381 last year to 3,646 this year, but both medium and low severity vulnerabilities grew considerably. There were a total of 18,378 reported vulnerabilities this year.
These severity ratings are derived from a number of factors, but combinations of low severity vulnerabilities can lead to a more significant impact on affected systems — even when the individual vulnerabilities are difficult to exploit, or don't pose a significant threat on their own.
With so many vulnerabilities, it is important to keep your software updated with the latest security patches. The patch management capabilities included in Acronis Cyber Protect make this simple by allowing you to remotely patch all of your protected systems from a single web console.