iOS Network Monitoring Techniques

 

A zero-day vulnerability is a vulnerability in a software system or device that has been disclosed but is not yet patched. It is worth mentioning that sometimes a zero-day vulnerability will remain undisclosed to be exploited by cybercriminals and intelligence agencies. An exploit that attacks a zero-day vulnerability is called a zero-day exploit.

Because they were discovered before security researchers and software developers became aware of them—and before they can issue a patch—zero-day vulnerabilities pose a higher risk to users for the following reasons:

• Cybercriminals race to exploit these vulnerabilities to cash in on their schemes
• Vulnerable systems are exposed until a patch is issued by the vendor.

Zero-day vulnerabilities are typically involved in targeted attacks; however, many campaigns still use old vulnerabilities. 

In the hacking world, these invisible backdoors have different sci-fi names: they call them zero-days (or 0 days), pronounced “oh-days.”

For the unindoctrinated: zero-days offer digital superpowers. They are a cloak of invisibility, and for spies and cybercriminals, the more invisible you can make yourself, the more power you will have. At the most basic level, a zero-day is a software or hardware flaw which does not have any existing patch. They got their name because, as with Patient Zero in an epidemic, when a zero-day flaw is discovered, software and hardware companies have had zero days to come up with a defence. 

Intelligence agencies also collaborate with software and hardware security companies to leave vulnerabilities in their products that are only known to them. These zero-day vulnerabilities give them unlimited access for spying to the systems of the enemies of the states who use these flawed systems.

Zero-Day Vulnerability Timeline

A zero-day attack happens when a flaw in software/hardware is exploited and attackers release malware before a developer has an opportunity to create a patch to fix the vulnerability—hence “zero-day.” Let’s break down the steps of the window of vulnerability:

• A company’s developers create software, but unbeknownst to them, it contains a vulnerability.
• The threat actor spots that vulnerability either before the developer does or acts on it before the developer has a chance to fix it.
• The attacker writes and implements exploit code while the vulnerability is still open and available
• After releasing the exploit, either the public recognizes it in the form of identity or information theft or the developer catches it and creates a patch to staunch the cyber-bleeding.

Once a patch is written and used, the exploit is no longer called a zero-day exploit. These attacks are rarely discovered right away. In fact, it often takes not just days but months and sometimes years before a developer learns of the vulnerability that led to an attack.

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