VENDORiQ: New Kroll Research Shows Terrifying Growth in Zero-Day Exploits

The Latest

12 April 2022: Research by risk consulting firm Kroll revealed a 356 per cent surge in common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) or zero-day vulnerabilities (also known as freshly announced threats) in the last three months of 2021 compared to the previous quarter. By December, an increase in new ransomware variants was detected in ManageEngine, ProxyShell, VMWare, and SonicWal pushed CVE logs to an all-time high.

Kroll’s industry survey revealed that while phishing remained the most popular initial access infection vector, at 39 per cent in the fourth quarter, CVE increased from 6 per cent to 27 per cent in the same period.

Source: Q4 2021 Threat Landscape: Software Exploits Abound

Why it’s Important

Many incidents of ransomware continue to impact Australian organisations who are considered prime targets due to (a) their capacity to pay and (b) their relatively immature (from a global perspective) cyber-defence and cyber-response capabilities of a larger number of mid-sized enterprises. Many of these organisations struggle to close common vulnerabilities, let alone zero-day exploits, quickly enough to avoid intrusions due to their weak defence postures.

Organisations need to address their ability to defend against such attacks and respond appropriately to limit any impact caused by breaches. More effort is required across industries to contain the likelihood of attacks impacting productivity, reputation and financial resources, rather than just within individual businesses. This will support sharing of intelligence and the growth of cyber-defence nationally.

Who’s impacted

• CMO
• Development team leads
• Business analysts

What’s Next?

• Cyber-defence can no longer be left to a ‘best effort’ basis by ICT groups. Organisations that lack a dedicated cyber security specialist, must seek out specialist services, peer groups and forums, and actively leverage better practices from these groups.
• Evaluate the status of your enterprise’s ransomware defence and look into the strengths and weaknesses of your current security posture.
• Create a dedicated team that will develop a roadmap to improve the organisation’s stance against ransomware.

Related IBRS Advisory

1. The Security Impact of Remote Working: Find the Gaps in (Zero) Trust
2. Use Security Principles to Guide Security Strategy
3. Reducing the Risk of a Successful Ransomware Attack