Which of the following is a recommendation for an effective patch management program?

An effective patch management program is essential for maintaining the security and stability of systems. Continuously monitoring for vulnerabilities and threats is a best practice because it ensures that organizations are proactive rather than reactive. This approach allows security teams to identify potential risks in real-time, assess their criticality, and apply patches or updates promptly before they can be exploited by attackers.

By actively monitoring for new vulnerabilities and emerging threats, organizations can also keep pace with the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape. This vigilance supports the prioritization of patch deployment based on the severity of the vulnerabilities and their potential impact on the organization's assets.

The other options do not align with best practices in patch management. A static patch schedule can lead to delayed responses to critical vulnerabilities; waiting for user feedback can allow exploitable vulnerabilities to persist in the environment; and ignoring non-critical vulnerabilities may leave the organization exposed to incidents that could escalate in severity over time. An effective patch management program should be dynamic and responsive to the ongoing changes in the threat environment.