# CIS 7.4 — Perform Automated Application Patch Management

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_gen_cis_74_53ac9c618a-cis-74-perform-automated-application-patch-management
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [AWS Checks New Version](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/62000112673) › [Protect](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/f_gen_62000112673_protect)
- Last updated: 2026-05-30
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

CIS · Control 7.4 · Priority: critical · Component: Protect

### What this control covers

Perform application updates on enterprise assets through automated patch management on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.

### Why it matters

Cloud misconfiguration is the leading cause of cloud-related breaches; posture management is how you catch it before someone else does.

### How to implement

#### AWS

Manage all changes in **Terraform/CloudFormation**; enforce SCPs that deny console writes for prod. Use **AWS Config rules** + **conformance packs** (CIS, HIPAA, PCI) to detect drift.

#### Azure

**Azure Policy** + **Blueprints** baseline landing zones; Bicep/Terraform as IaC and **Policy Insights** for drift.

#### GCP

**Org Policy Service** for guardrails and **Config Validator** in CI to pre-check Terraform plans against policy as code (Rego).

#### Google Workspace

Forward the **Admin, Login, Drive, Token and Mobile** audit logs to Cloud Logging (Workspace BigQuery export). Alert on impossible-travel logins, OAuth-scope grants for high-risk scopes, and external Drive sharing of sensitive labels.

#### GitHub

Stream the **Enterprise audit log** to your SIEM and enable **Audit Log API** alerting on key events: owner changes, IP allowlist edits, secret deletions, repo visibility flips.

### Evidence to collect

-   `infra_scan` — See the iCompaas Evidence library for the canonical source for this evidence type.

Infrastructure posture tooling (AWS Config, Azure Policy, Nessus) verifies platform hardening. Focus: Perform Automated Application Patch Management.

### Quick checklist

-   Perform — Enterprise
-   Protect — Enterprise

### Related articles on this site

-   [2.1 Ensure Cloud Audit Logging Is Configured Properly (Automated)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000232946-2-1-ensure-cloud-audit-logging-is-configured-properly-automated-)
-   [2.12 Ensure Cloud DNS Logging Is Enabled for All VPC Networks (Automated)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000233000-2-12-ensure-cloud-dns-logging-is-enabled-for-all-vpc-networks-automated-)
-   [6.2.8 Ensure the 'cloudsql.enable\_pgaudit' Database Flag for Each Cloud SQL PostgreSQL Instance Is Set to 'on' for Centralized Logging (Automated)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000233039-6-2-8-ensure-the-cloudsql-enable-pgaudit-database-flag-for-each-cloud-sql-postgresql-instance-is-se)
-   [Microsoft Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/62000234105-microsoft-cloud-security-posture-management-cspm-)

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.