| During the last 10 years Internet use has dramatically increased, causing organizations to become increasingly concerned aware both their need to ensure the security of their information and of its vulnerability. At the same time, the fast proliferation of systems and their respective vulnerabilities have become almost unmanageable for IT departments. The patches released by software vendors must be installed before the vulnerabilities they address can be exploited. These patches are often numerous and frequent. Therefore, the ability to patch systems quickly is necessary if an organization is to provide a safe operating environment.;This dissertation describes the computer system environment to be secured and the fundamental limitations of the current patch management systems; although both hardware and software are involved, the focus is on hardware. It then discusses existing approaches for overcoming these limitations and gives an overview of the author's solution. The framework proposed in this dissertation is timely since most peer-to-peer distribution models focus more on content delivery and resource allocation. |
