Applying patches is the first step to lower the risk to the production hardware, as patches are updates that fix vulnerabilities or bugs in the software or firmware. Patches can prevent attackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities and compromising the production hardware. Applying patches should be done regularly and in a timely manner, following a patch management policy and process. References: 1 CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 9, Domain 2.0: Architecture and Design, Objective 2.3: Summarize secure application development, deployment, and automation concepts 2 CompTIA Security+ Certification Exam Objectives, page 10, Domain 2.0: Architecture and Design, Objective 2.4: Explain the importance of embedded and specialized systems security 3 https://www.comptia.org/blog/patch-management-best-practices