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Each day organizations face many types of security vulnerabilities. They are tasked with keeping their customers, employees, and their data safe from cyber-attacks. One of the most common yet difficult vulnerabilities to protect against are zero-day attacks.

Software programs and hardware often have unintentional flaws called vulnerabilities. These types of weaknesses can create complicated problems and allow cybercriminals to infiltrate a system well before anyone realizes something is wrong. Software developers are constantly on the lookout for vulnerabilities so they can deploy patches to fix them as quickly as possible. But sometimes they are not fixed quick enough, and hackers take advantage of this to exploit the vulnerability, leaving developers zero days to find a fix for the problem. Once a hacker exposes the flaws and launches an attack, it often can take not just days, but months or longer before a developer learns of the vulnerability.

Zero-day attacks are difficult to preemptively protect against since the threat can come in many forms. The vulnerabilities can pose serious security risks with malware infecting computers through otherwise harmless web browsing activities, such as viewing a website, opening a compromised message, or playing infected media. Also, exploited malware can steal data and sensitive information or worse, hackers can take unauthorized control of your network and computers.

  • Many times, users are not notified by the developers about the vulnerabilities in hopes that they can issue the patches before hackers discover it. Although there is not a foolproof way to protect against these types of attacks, there are ways to help mitigate the risk. To keep your organization and data safe, take the following security measures:
  •  Always be proactive by using comprehensive security software that protects against both known and unknown threats.
  • Always keep software and security patches up to date by downloading the latest software releases and updates.
  • Firewalls are crucial in protecting your system against zero-day threats. You can ensure maximum protection by configuring it to allow only necessary transactions.
  • Always be selective of which sites you visit and be sure to not click on unknown or suspicious links.