The Greek hero Achilles was a great warrior, much feared for his fighting skills and daring courage. But beneath his unbeatable facade, he had a vulnerability that led to his downfall—his heel.
A vulnerability, in the field of cybersecurity, is a weakness in your computer systems that an attacker can exploit. Computers, digital devices, and software have many known and undiscovered flaws due to their design. For example, many popular devices have insufficient user authentication, and some software may not encrypt their data. These weaknesses render them vulnerable to attacks.
Hackers are always searching for vulnerabilities to get into a target computer. Once in, they can steal sensitive data or sabotage the organization’s operations.
Other interesting terms…
Read More about a “Vulnerability”
How Do Cyber Attackers Take Advantage of Vulnerabilities?
Any software, application, or system has vulnerabilities or security flaws. That is why companies hire penetration testers in the first place. These experts test all software and hardware in a corporate network for exploitable weaknesses so these can be patched or fixed before they are deployed or connected to other systems. Why?
Attackers can create exploits or malicious programs that take advantage of vulnerabilities to gain access to a target network. They typically use so-called “exploit kits.” An exploit kit is like a set of lock picks that can open any insufficiently secured door.
It has become common, in fact, for hackers to use exploit kits to infect target users’ computers with malware. An example would be WannaCry ransomware. Several attackers have been known to take advantage of a Windows vulnerability to drop the malware onto a system.
Known vulnerabilities (those that have available patches) are easier to address than unknown or zero-day vulnerabilities. To reduce risks brought on by known vulnerabilities, all users need to do is download and install patches. That’s not the case for zero-days, though, as you’ll see in the next section.
What Is a Zero-Day Vulnerability?
A zero-day vulnerability typically remains unknown and undisclosed for some time. Hence, it doesn’t usually have a patch or fix. That gives cyber attackers time and opportunity to exploit the weakness for campaigns. The longer it remains unpatched, the more it exposes an affected system or application and, consequently, the network to various online threats that could lead to a breach.
What Are the Different Types of Vulnerabilities?
Knowing the enemy is winning half the battle. As such, being aware of the common types of vulnerabilities can help you protect your network.
- Weak passwords: Using your first and last name as passwords and reusing them for multiple accounts is a common practice, making hacking easy. An insecure password is one of the types of vulnerabilities that you can easily remedy.
- Lack of data encryption: Encryption makes data indecipherable so only the intended recipient can read it. Even when hackers intercept it, they won’t be able to understand it unless they have the decryption key. If an email, application, or software doesn’t use encryption, threat actors can easily read the data in it.
- URL redirection to malicious sites: Allowing redirects can help website owners, but threat actors can exploit this by redirecting users to malicious sites.
- Software bugs: Software products almost always have bugs or errors. But you have to make sure that the software you use doesn’t have security bugs that can pose risks. Also, ensure that you install patches as soon as they become available.
How Can You Defend against Vulnerability Exploitation?
Individuals and companies alike are not immune to vulnerability exploitation. But there are ways to reduce related risks, such as:
- Install security solutions that can detect and block exploits.
- Regularly download and install security patches or updates as soon as vendors release them.
- Use intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDSs/IPSs) that specifically monitor for and block vulnerability exploits.
- Scan your network for the presence of security bugs or weaknesses. Hire a penetration tester if you have the resources to do so.
- In the absence of patches (for zero-days), rely on indicators of compromise (IoCs) stated in security alerts and news. Avoid clicking Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) or links embedded in and opening attachments to emails from unknown senders. They can be vulnerability exploits in disguise.
Cybercriminals are known for taking advantage of any weakness to gain a foothold in your network. And vulnerability exploitation is one of the most effective ways they can use. That’s why it’s always best to practice good security hygiene.
What Is the Difference between a Vulnerability and a Risk?
A vulnerability within an organization’s network refers to any weakness that can put it in danger despite its security efforts. It can come in the form of a firewall failure that enables hackers to access the network.
On the other hand, a risk refers to the possibility that these vulnerabilities will be exploited by threat actors. Vulnerabilities wouldn’t pose any risk without the presence of threats. However, since threats abound, measuring and monitoring risks is crucial.
What Is Vulnerability Disclosure, and Is it Important?
Vulnerability disclosure is the process of reporting flaws in software or hardware that can weaken their security. The vulnerabilities could be discovered by security researchers, bug-bounty hunters, in-house developers, and other parties.
Whoever found the vulnerability would report it to the company responsible for the software or hardware. They would then wait for the vendor to fix the security flaw to release the vulnerability disclosure to the public. This would generally take between 60 and 120 days.
Vulnerability disclosures are important, as they ensure vendor accountability and keep products secure.
