Zero-day vulnerabilities: what impact do they have on your email security?

What is a zero-day vulnerability?

In cybersecurity, it is virtually impossible to counter certain security flaws. Among these, zero-day vulnerabilities represent undiscovered or unpatched software vulnerabilities that developers have not yet had the opportunity to repair, or for which no patch is available. Attackers exploit these flaws to launch cyberattacks before the vulnerability is known or patched, making these cyberattacks particularly dangerous and difficult to prevent. That’s why it’s essential to have a functional anti-spam tool.

How are security vulnerabilities exploited by cybercriminals?

Cybercriminals identify unpatched vulnerabilities in your software. They then develop malicious code to exploit these vulnerabilities. These attacks can include malware injection, data theft, ransomware installation, or unauthorized access to certain systems. Their aim is to steal sensitive data or hold your organization to ransom.

To stay one step ahead, prevention is crucial.

• Constant vigilance: Always be on the alert and proactively monitoring for potential threats and vulnerabilities hidden in your organization’s digital environment.
• Regular security updates: Regular updates are essential to anticipate and correct vulnerabilities, reinforce defenses against new threats, and maintain system integrity and performance.
• Use of advanced cybersecurity solutions: This involves implementing ongoing security measures, training employees in best practices, and adapting quickly to new attack tactics, thus ensuring a robust defense against increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks.

Example of a zero-day vulnerability

In March 2023, a Russian program called Vulkan was designed to scan the web for vulnerabilities. Indeed, there are a host of known and unknown vulnerabilities. They are present on all systems, and for the most part go unnoticed.

Moreover, countering zero-day vulnerabilities represents a major challenge. As a result, experts are increasingly exploiting artificial intelligence to anticipate cyberattacks emanating from these flaws. They are seeking to design AI-generated systems capable of automatically searching for as yet undetected zero-day vulnerabilities.

What are the consequences of zero-day vulnerabilities?

There are several types of security vulnerabilities.

• Injection flaws (SQL): These enable the execution of malicious code (malware, ransomware…), with a direct impact on the security of your employees’ data.
• Broken authentication vulnerabilities: These correspond to the risk of “breaking” security measures. Among other things, they enable cybercriminals to bypass authentication management and gain unauthorized access to your IT systems, compromising your organization’s overall security. They include session theft and password recovery.
• Buffer overflow vulnerabilities: These can lead to the execution of arbitrary code, posing a major risk to your entire workforce.
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities: These allow the insertion of malicious scripts (and other code…) that can affect users and compromise their sensitive data.
• Zero-day vulnerabilities: These are vulnerabilities unknown to manufacturers and security teams at the time of their exploitation. Their danger lies in the fact that no patches are available when they are discovered, making them particularly effective for cyberattacks and requiring constant vigilance, advanced detection measures and rapid response to minimize damage.

What’s more, these vulnerabilities enable many other cyberattacks to pass through them: phishing, spear phishing, malware, ransomware, etc…

Email risk analysis

Moreover, finding a security flaw has an exceptionally high value for hackers. Thus, a hacker who discovers a zero-day vulnerability might not immediately use it for attacks, but rather choose to sell it to the highest bidder. This is the origin of ransomware, malware, spear phishing and other attacks.

To recognize these cyberattacks, it is important to check the following points:

• The sender’s address: for example, a domain such as “examplecompany.com” could be forged as “examp1ecompany.com”.
• The content of the e-mail: beware of e-mails urging you to take immediate action, especially if they contain grammatical errors, sensitive information and suspicious links and attachments.
• Message consistency: some senders appear to know many of your personal details, but are slightly inaccurate or use this information in a clumsy way.

It’s crucial to note that zero-day vulnerabilities are not confined to any specific operating system. Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android, as well as web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and applications (such as Adobe, WordPress, Drupal, Apache, PHP, Microsoft Office), connected objects and equipment firmware all suffer their effect. However, their impact tends to be more pronounced in widely used systems and applications, attracting more attention from cybercriminals.

Which solution is best suited to protecting your company from zero-day vulnerabilities?

Detecting zero-day vulnerabilities is virtually impossible. However, knowing that they exist is essential to protect organizations, especially VSEs, SMEs and ETIs. There are a number of tools and technologies designed to detect and counter attacks arising from zero-day vulnerabilities. By combining advanced email security solutions with training and awareness programs, companies can strengthen their security against zero-day vulnerabilities. Continuous vigilance and preparation for emerging threats are essential to protect your organization’s data and systems.

How does Altospam block zero-day vulnerabilities?

Altospam anticipates these vulnerabilities by integrating 6 antivirus programs and proactively blocking high-risk files. This advanced analysis minimizes the impact of attacks even before they are identified by traditional antivirus databases. It also includes signature examination via a meta-repository of 57 antiviruses, a static sandbox for macros, and detection by comparison with known ransomware. These innovative technologies, combined with over 20 years’ expertise, offer robust, adaptive protection against security breaches, protecting SMEs, SMBs and other public bodies from cyber-attacks before they even occur.

A few tips

For a solution to be effective, it must meet a number of conditions.

• Intelligent filtering: These solutions use advanced algorithms to analyze e-mails for malicious content, suspicious attachments or attack patterns.
• Behavioral analysis: Some solutions monitor the behavior of users and incoming e-mails to detect abnormal activity.
  • Early detection: These solutions identify abnormal behavior before an attack occurs.
  • Adaptability: They can adapt to new threats by constantly analyzing behavior patterns.
  • Reduction of false alarms: By focusing on abnormal behavior, these solutions reduce false alarms.
• Phishing protection: These solutions are designed to detect phishing attempts by examining e-mail content and links.
• Employee training and awareness: Some solutions offer training and awareness features to help users recognize social engineering attacks.
  • Signal recognition: Trained employees are more likely to recognize social engineering attempts.
  • Reduced human error: Training helps to reduce the human errors that can lead to security compromises.

The future of cybersecurity presents challenges, with a combination of phishing awareness and advanced technologies like Altospam’s Mailsafe (anti-phishing, anti-spearphishing, anti-malware and anti-ransomware), businesses can strengthen their security and guard against emerging threats. Staying abreast of new trends and adapting quickly is essential to protecting your organization’s data and systems.