The software world is bigger than SAP and most businesses are diversifying their software stacks in search of the best fit. Now, while this best-fit approach can be great for achieving the desired functionality from your teams, it can also result in a more slippery, loose structure when it comes to fortifying your enterprise cybersecurity. With the number of cyberattacks growing, governments and other regulatory bodies are becoming more concerned about the protection of important personal and business information, with new regulations in place to ensure businesses keep their IT systems and data properly protected. The European Union’s NIS-2 Directive, for instance, hopes to enforce a common level of cybersecurity amongst critical sectors including energy, transportation, banking health and retail. Legislation now states a required set of cybersecurity measures and risk management, with organizations facing large fines if they fail to uphold NIS-2 requirements. In-tru-der Windows  Microsoft Windows is a popular operating system of choice for a large number of businesses. Though it wasn’t a virus as such, the now infamous CrowdStrike update error back in July goes to show the impact of when Microsoft systems go awry. The outage, which saw Microsoft Windows PCs impacted with a "blue screen of death", came after a defective software update from cyber security firm, CrowdStrike, for Microsoft Windows hosts. Although a fix was deployed, it has taken "weeks" for systems to be back to normal. A true nightmare scenario for many businesses. With a large number of SAP users also using Windows servers, many IT administrators are well-versed in the extra precautions needed to keep systems secure, such as regular manual patching, careful testing and additional licenses for Windows Defender. However, its popularity also makes it a prime target operating system for viruses, trojans, ransomware and spyware from bad actors. When mixed with an SAP ecosystem, the required patches can’t be applied live, meaning that your Windows application servers need to be taken offline in planned maintenance windows. More often than not, these have to be scheduled for off-hours or weekends to try and avoid as much disruption as possible to business operations. Tightening the security foundations Speaking to open-source software vendor SUSE, the firm claims that the best way to ensure a secure technology ecosystem is to have a system in place that allows for live patching without system downtime, automated patch and configuration management, and stricter regulatory compliance. A SUSE spokesperson said: “One benefit SUSE offers with its SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for SAP applications, is live patching rather than manual and scheduled updates, with system downtime. That way, security updates and bug fixes can be completed as needed while business operations remain online, closing up any significant time window where malware can exploit weaknesses in the operating systems. Patches can also be deployed as soon as they are available, so businesses can react more quickly to seal up any vulnerabilities.” For instance, with SLES having earned the Common Criteria EAL4+ certification, SUSE has ensured that the system meets the highest levels of assurance, also covering the vendor’s supply chain and, therein, meeting NIS-2 and similar regulations. Moreover, for SAP applications, vendors like SUSE offer a SAP HANA firewall, featuring rules and configurations specifically designed to protect SAP HANA services and applications. It enables a granular access control over which applications can communicate with each other, as well as logging and monitoring capabilities that offer greater visibility into potential security threats. It's no doubt a more dangerous digital world than even a few years ago, and though there are many pressing demands on businesses when it comes to software upgrades, ensuring tightened security foundations simply cannot be overlooked in the push to build a business onward and upwards with stability.