The “Top 25” list of critical vulnerabilities released by the NSA last month offers good insight into the general tactics of Chinese state-backed hackers, the conditions of corporate security programs, and what companies can do to sharpen up their patching operations. Today’s columnist, Jerry Gamblin of Kenna Security, tells us why issuing the list was important. (Credit: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The National Security Administration (NSA) recently published a list of 25 vulnerabilities that Chinese security services rely on to penetrate corporate networks in the United States.

The vulnerabilities published in late October are not new. The list contained no surprises –absolutely zero – to anyone paying close attention. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to draw some important lessons. By taking a broader look at these vulnerabilities, we get some good insight into the general tactics of state-backed hackers, the conditions of corporate security programs, and what companies can do to sharpen up their patching operations.

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