Introduction
Zero-day attacks…zero-day vulnerabilities…zero-trust security postures…”Zero” seems to be the most popular number in cybersecurity these days!
Hopefully, you’ve at least heard of these terms before. They have become increasingly common in cybersecurity the past several years, and are important concepts to understand to best protect yourself, and the important data that you manage and safeguard!
Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
Imagine there’s this secret entrance into a fancy nightclub that nobody knows about, not even the bouncers. That secret entrance is like a zero-day vulnerability in the software world.
A zero-day vulnerability is a security flaw in software that the developers have no clue about. It’s like a secret backdoor that cybercriminals stumble upon before the software makers even have a chance to patch it up. Hence, it’s called “zero-day” because the software developers have zero days of advance notice about the vulnerability.
Of course, it’s not always a cybercriminal that notices the flaw. Developers and benign users may also notice the security vulnerability and alert the software manufacturer.
Zero-Day Attacks
That’s why zero-day vulnerabilities can be a headache for developers; they have to work quickly to find out about these hidden flaws, patch them and release an update to users before the bad guys can exploit it. It’s a race against time, just like closing that secret entrance before the party crashers get in.
Zero-day attacks are exactly that; cybercriminals exploit the vulnerability before developers can produce a patch. This is a prime example of why people need to update their software as soon as new versions get released. Otherwise, you could be running old versions with easily-exploitable vulnerabilities and not even know it—and that’s exactly what hackers are banking on users doing.
This is similar to the reason you need to change the default log-in credentials when you acquire new hardware!
Zero-Trust Security
So…what can you do to protect yourself and your systems from zero-day vulnerabilities and, thus, attacks too?
Think about it: Zero-day security is all about being proactive, finding those secret vulnerabilities, and patching them up before the hackers can make a move. It’s a constant battle between the good guys and the bad guys, with the good guys doing their best to close up those secret entrances and keep their systems safe from unexpected attacks.
Zero-day security focuses on staying one step ahead of those hackers. That entails a set of practices, strategies and measures aimed at mitigating the risks associated with zero-day vulnerabilities and attacks. Some key aspects of that strategy include…
- Employ strong access controls, network segmentation, advanced threat protection solutions and regular security assessments
- Ongoing research and analysis to discover previously unknown vulnerabilities in software, operating systems or applications that have already been launched
- Recognize threats early via automatic monitoring, intrusion detection and anomaly detection systems
- Develop, test and implement patches as soon as vulnerabilities are discovered
- You should already have a well-defined incident response plan in place, which outlines steps that should be taken when you notice a red flag
- Regularly refresh your security awareness training, best practices and modern threat awareness
By incorporating these elements, zero-day security aims to strengthen the overall security posture of systems and organizations, reducing the potential impact of zero-day vulnerabilities and ensuring a swift response to zero-day attacks when they occur!
The new hottest number in cybersecurity…is zero! It’s the most effective number for keeping your important data locked down.
