In its monthly Global Threat Report, ScanSafe said the rate of zero-day malware blocks increased in November to 26 percent of blocks, compared to 16 percent in October. The number is also significantly higher than the 19 percent average reported for the year.
In a zero day attack, hackers are faster than software vendors and security providers by exploiting vulnerabilities before vendors have time to fix them.
The most recent zero day attack was the Internet Explorer browser exploit. The vulnerability was found and then mistakenly released by Chinese researchers. The result was an explosion of attacks. Microsoft released an emergency patch on Tuesday, 17 December.
"Throughout November, attackers were more intent than ever on ensuring the malware they used would bypass traditional security measures," said Mary Landesman, senior security researcher at ScanSafe.
News 6 months ago
