Patching as a Service

Use AI to defend against AI-accelerated cyber threats.

Cyberattacks that exploit AI are increasing rapidly, and their methods are becoming more sophisticated and faster. As malicious actors use AI to identify and analyze vulnerabilities while automating attacks, defenders must also use AI to execute countermeasures with equal or greater speed and precision.

Delays in vulnerability remediation are not merely an operational issue; they are a business risk that can threaten an organization's continued existence. Leaving vulnerabilities unpatched can lead to system outages, serious data breaches, and service disruptions. For critical infrastructure operators and large enterprises with significant social impact, the resulting loss of trust can be significant and long-lasting.

In many conventional organizations, patch management remains fragmented across detection, prioritization, impact assessment, remediation, and reassessment. This creates structural bottlenecks: vulnerabilities are detected but cannot be remediated; teams cannot determine which issues to address first; and work stalls because of concerns about unexpected effects on production systems.

What Is Patching as a Service?

Patching as a Service combines OpenAI's advanced AI technologies with SoftBank's enterprise implementation experience and operational know-how to provide powerful support for vulnerability remediation. It brings system assessment, risk analysis and evaluation, remediation prioritization, remediation planning, recommended countermeasures, and patch deployment together in one seamless process, enabling organizations to put concrete, effective defenses into action.

Core Strengths

1. A Hybrid of Frontier AI and Cybersecurity Experts

   AI analyzes enormous volumes of source code, system configurations, and vulnerability intelligence with high precision at speed. Cybersecurity experts then review and evaluate the findings from a practical, operational perspective. Combining fast, sophisticated AI screening with the sound judgment of specialists who understand real-world operations delivers highly reliable assessments.

2. Practical Expertise Gained from SoftBank's Own Large-Scale Assessments

   SoftBank has conducted vulnerability assessments across many of its own systems and accumulated extensive know-how in detection and remediation. We provide practical support backed not only by theory, but also by real-world operational insight from large-scale environments.

3. Integration with SoftBank's Enterprise Cybersecurity Services

   SoftBank offers a broad portfolio of cybersecurity solutions spanning vulnerability management, incident response, OT security, and managed security. Patching as a Service is designed to work with customers' existing defense, monitoring, and operational frameworks.

Services

• Source Code Assessments
  • Static assessment: Analyzes source code to identify potential vulnerabilities, including programming defects, configuration errors, and outdated authentication methods, while clarifying their location and potential impact.
  • Dynamic assessment: Based on the static assessment results, tests whether identified vulnerabilities may be exploitable in an operational environment and verifies whether an attack can succeed and the extent of its impact.

• Attack Assessments

  Conducts simulated attacks based on externally observable system behavior to identify vulnerabilities and other security weaknesses from an attacker's perspective. This makes potential risks that are difficult to detect through source code analysis alone visible and clarifies the issues that should be prioritized for remediation.

• Reports and Remediation Recommendations

  We prepare and deliver a report summarizing identified vulnerabilities, their potential impact, remediation priorities, and recommended countermeasures.

• Patch Deployment

  We create purpose-built patches for identified vulnerabilities and test them thoroughly in a simulated environment. Only patches confirmed to be safe for production are deployed.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. Does AI automatically deploy remediation patches?

A. No. Patches are never deployed automatically. Before any deployment, we agree with the customer on the scope, procedures, organizational structure, and division of responsibilities. We then present the remediation policy and detailed implementation proposal. The final deployment decision is made in accordance with the customer's change management process.

Q. How is this different from existing vulnerability assessment services?

A. Conventional vulnerability assessment services often stop at detecting and reporting risks. Patching as a Service goes further, with a strong focus on actual remediation. By combining rapid, advanced security analysis using OpenAI's cyber models with SoftBank's own implementation and operational know-how, the service provides a one-stop path from assessment to practical patch recommendations.

Q. What types of systems can be assessed?

A. For source code assessments, we first confirm the programming languages in scope, how the source code will be provided, and other requirements before determining feasibility and assessment scope. For attack assessments, we assess pre-agreed access points for systems, websites, and similar assets.