To patch or not patch - that is the question for IT directors who must balance the need for security against everyday operational demands. Sallyy Flood looks at ways to fill software holes without spoiling the overall picture. One Saturday morning in 2003, the Slammer worm was unleashed on an unsuspecting world. In the first minute of its life, Slammer doubled the number of machines it infected every eight seconds. Within 10 minutes, 90% of all vulnerable machines had been infected - leaving businesses with a £500m clean up bill. The bill was all the more painful because Slammer hit a full six months after Microsoft had released a patch to prevent it. If everyone had patched their systems in the first place, Slammer would never have happened.
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