Zero-Day Exploit

A Zero-Day Exploit is an attack that exploits a previously unknown or not yet patched vulnerability. The term is considered particularly critical because affected organizations frequently have no direct technical countermeasure available at the time of the attack. Attackers often use zero-day exploits in a targeted manner to penetrate systems unnoticed or to cause great damage. For defenders, this means that behavior-based detection, hardening and rapid responsiveness become all the more important.

Not every zero-day automatically leads to a large campaign, but the risk is high because of the short warning time. Organizations should therefore strengthen both their vulnerability processes and their detection and response capabilities. Threat information and fast patch management also play a major role once a vulnerability becomes known. Automated Security Validation can help to continuously test protective measures against realistic attack scenarios.

See also: Vulnerability Management, Threat Intelligence and Breach Prevention.