As connected devices grow exponentially in number and variety, and new applications and online services grow, cybercriminals are exploiting their vulnerabilities at a faster rate than ever before. Fortinet has released a report on threat activities in the second half of 2023. Here are highlights as posted on the Help Net Security website (https://www.helpnetsecurity..com/2024/05/10/new-vulnerabilities-number-growth/):
- Average time from public disclosure of an exploit to attack is 4.76 days. This illustrates the need to patch vulnerabilities as soon as possible.
- Speed of attacks is 43% faster than in the first half of 2023.
- In addition to newly identified vulnerabilities, 98% of organizations detected vulnerabilities that have existed for at least five years. Threat actors are exploiting vulnerabilities that are more than 15 years old.
- Only a small number of known endpoint vulnerabilities - less than 9% - were targeted by attacks. This reduces the attack surface for security teams to focus their efforts.
- Ransomware attacks are shifting to target critical industries. Energy, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and automotive industries are the principal targets.
- Botnets are active for an average of 85 days after first detection.
- Of 143 listed advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, 38 were active.
Vendors and customers need to take action to reduce threats. Vendors must introduce security at all stages of product development and be transparent in disclosing vulnerabilities. Customers need to apply patches as quickly as possible to reduce the risk that vulnerabilities will be exploited.