Explained: What are zero-day ‘hacks’ and how you can protect against them – Times of India
You might have come across the term zero-day hack or zero-day exploit, which can be dangerous for your smartphone or laptop. But what are zero-day hacks and what makes them dangerous? We explain it in detail and how you be safe from them.
What are zero-day hacks?
Zero-day is broadly speaking a form of security vulnerability, which has been recently discovered. Hackers can use them to attack the systems. It’s called zero-day as the developer would have just learned of the exploit and has “zero days” to fix it. Security research firm Kaspersky explains, “A zero-day attack takes place when hackers exploit the flaw before developers have a chance to address it.”
How do zero-day hacks work?
App or software developers regularly release updates, which often include “patches” that fix bugs or vulnerabilities. However, hackers can spot the flaw before the developers do. While the vulnerability is still open, attackers can write and implement a code to take advantage of it. This is known as exploit code. Attackers can use this code to attack users’ systems. This can happen through email or message which may seem legitimate but is often a hack. The message tries to convince a user to perform an action like opening a file or visiting a malicious website. Doing so downloads the attacker’s malware, which infiltrates the user’s files and steals confidential data.
What happens when a zero-day hack is discovered?
Kaspersky explains that once when a vulnerability becomes known, the developers try to patch it to stop the attack. “However, security vulnerabilities are often not discovered straight away,” explains Kaspersky. Quite often it can sometimes take days, weeks, or even months before developers identify the vulnerability that led to the attack. Also, what happens is that even when developers fix the flaw, users don’t immediately implement it.
What can you do to protect yourself?
There are a few steps you can take to keep yourself safe from zero-day hacks and exploits.
Update software and operating systems
If and when a zero-day exploit is discovered, a developer will patch it through an update. This is why it’s essential to keep all your apps and operating systems up to date.
Don’t keep any unnecessary apps
If there are apps that you have used once or twice and still have them on your phone, then they could post a risk. So try keeping essential apps only.
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