Oracle has taken steps to make its next batch of security patches a little bit easier to understand.With the October Critical Patch Update, due out Tuesday, Oracle will begin rating vulnerabilities according to the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), a setup backed by Cisco Systems and IBM that attempts to standardize the way security flaws are rated.Oracle will also provide executive summaries of its security vulnerabilities, and a list of the flaws that could be exploited by remote attackers even without a password on the Oracle server.“Customers are now asking for information in a better format. They want some sort of objective score so they can tell which is the most important thing,’ said Darius Wiles, senior manager of Oracle Security Alerts. To date, wading through Oracle’s security documentation has been a daunting task. The company’s last round of patches, released July 18, contained 65 security patches, and figuring out the severity of each of these bugs involved interpreting “risk matrix” data from three separate risk categories, all provided by Oracle.“The information has always been available in the risk matrix if you know how to interpret the data,” Wiles said. “You can figure it out, but customers said they wanted a much simpler system where they could just run down through the list of vulnerabilities and have a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ “ The executive summaries will also make it easier for administrators to explain the severity of vulnerabilities to their supervisors, Wiles added.“Customers were looking for a short summary that they could pass up to management,” he said. “They wanted something that Oracle had provided so they could just cut and paste it and say, ‘These are the official Oracle words.’ “An Oracle blog posting on the changes can be found here.-Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau)Related Links: Oracle Pays $98.5M to Settle PeopleSoft Charges Oracle Buys Data Integration Firm Sunopsis Oracle Releases 1st Portal Product Since AcquisitionCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature 8 tips for unleashing the power of unstructured data For most organizations, data in the form of text, video, audio, and other formats is plentiful but remains untapped. Here’s how to unlock business value from this overlooked data trove. By Bob Violino Nov 28, 2023 10 mins Data Mining Data Mining Data Mining opinion What you don’t know about data management could kill your business Organizations without a solid data management strategy are on a collision course with catastrophe. Unfortunately, that’s most businesses, judging by the fundamental disconnect on the importance of strong data foundations. By Thornton May Nov 28, 2023 6 mins Data Architecture Data Governance Master Data Management brandpost Sponsored by Dell Technologies and Intel® Gen AI without the risks Demystifying generative AI: Practical tips for cost-effective deployment in your organization. By Andy Morris, Enterprise AI Strategy Lead at Intel Nov 27, 2023 6 mins Artificial Intelligence brandpost Sponsored by SAP Old age isn’t what is used to be: a versatile solution for a more independent breed of seniors An award-winning company from Down Under gives today’s seniors the power to access the services they need while keeping control of their own destinies and preserving their independence. By Michael Kure, SAP Contributor Nov 27, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe