Top tips: Zero-day attacks and how to avoid them

Top tips is a weekly column where we highlight what’s trending in the tech world and list ways to explore these trends. This week, let's look at four steps an organization can take to avoid zero-day attacks.

Genuine question—would you be okay with your coworkers knowing how much you earn? Especially if you've been outperforming and thriving within your team of 20 employees, and you're on your way to becoming a regional manager. Most organizations have a process in place where every employees' payroll details are shared confidentially with them and sometimes their managers, to keep workplace outbursts and meltdowns in check. However, the Moroccans weren't so lucky.

Earlier this April, threat actors managed to exploit a zero day vulnerability and hacked into Morocco's National Social Security Fund (CNSS), breaching personal data of more than two million users. This included their company affiliation, contact details, and most importantly, their salaries, sending curious coworkers nationwide into a frenzy.

It's nearly impossible for organizations to know about every security flaw in their applications and operating systems, even though patch fixes and updates are rolled out regularly. This is why zero-day attacks are more common and effective than any other type of cyberattack. Hackers spend days on end using advanced testing tools to try and get operating systems and applications to crash. Once the bug is discovered, reverse engineering tools are deployed to figure out what caused the crash. This leads to the creation of a zero-day exploit—a series of commands designed to manipulate the bug, hack into the system, and deliver the payload in one fell swoop.

Traditional cybersecurity protocols, such as firewalls and antivirus, are designed to study known threat signatures and patterns. However, when an unknown vulnerability is detected, traditional cybersecurity systems are caught off guard. Even though it might seem impossible to defend against such attacks, an organization can implement a multi-layered strategy to ward off such attacks.

Let's discuss.

1. Vulnerability scanning and patch management

A significant way to mitigate zero-day threats is to scan systems regularly and roll-out patches for vulnerabilities. Deploying comprehensive vulnerability management tools that provide extended coverage across operating systems and applications, increased visibility, and rigorous assessment gives you the first layer of defense against zero-day attacks. You can also regularly scan and patch business critical systems and tools using patch management solutions. These solutions have options to automate time-consuming functions and provide insightful reports as well.

2. Network segmentation and least privilege

Segmenting your network into smaller, more isolated zones vastly reduces the attack surface and helps contain threats within the isolated zones, preventing them from spreading further. This, coupled with an additional layer of least privilege—the process of limiting required permissions to users and applications—reduces the attack surface even further and prevents lateral movement.

3. Next-gen antivirus (NGAV)

The implementation of AI and ML for advanced threat detection and prevention gives NGAV an edge over traditional antivirus software, especially when it comes to zero-day threat detection. Instead of relying on threat signatures, NGAV analyzes behavior patterns through ML, to identify and prevent threats in real time. It also has the capacity to detect, sandbox, and monitor suspicious system files without affecting the main system. As a bonus, NGAV can also leverage intelligence feeds and cloud-based threat databases to stay up-to-date on the latest threats and vulnerabilities.

4. Training and awareness

Educating employees and creating a dedicated task-force for monitoring and staying up-to-date on vulnerabilities and threats is the final layer of defense against such threats. Awareness campaigns on common cyberthreats and cyber security best practices should be rolled out organization-wide. It's also beneficial to have a dedicated team of cyber researchers scanning the web daily for updates on threats, vulnerabilities, and help documents to maintain an updated vulnerability database. This database can be designed to sync with your vulnerability management tool's server so that it can also check and mitigate the vulnerabilities.

Vulnerability; not weakness

By proactively implementing these four strategies, organizations can significantly reduce their risk of falling victim to zero-day attacks. While no defense is ever completely foolproof, a layered approach helps create a resilient environment against emerging threats. In the rapidly evolving world of cybersecurity, staying vigilant and adaptable is the key to staying protected.