Zero-day exploits are on the rise—but why?

Zero-day vulnerabilities take advantage of new, previously unknown vulnerabilities in a computer system or program. They are particularly dangerous because attacks can go on for months or even years without being discovered. This gives criminals ample time to steal data, create backdoor access to networks, take control of computers and more.

Worse, recent reports note that zero-days are more common than ever.

In 2021, Google’s Project Zero report detailed the detection of 58 in-the-wild zero days, more than twice the previous record of 28 detected in 2015. Over the same period, Mandiant Threat Intelligence identified 80 zero-days exploited in the wild, which is more than double the previous record volume in 2019.