Attackers increased the speed with which they capitalised on newly publicised vulnerabilities in the second half of 2023, 43% faster than the year’s first half, according to FortiGuard Labs 2H 2023 Global Threat Landscape Report by Fortinet.
“The 2H 2023 Global Threat Landscape Report from FortiGuard Labs continues to shine a light on how quickly threat actors are taking advantage of newly disclosed vulnerabilities,” said Derek Manky, chief security strategist and global VP of Threat Intelligence at FortiGuard Labs.
Mitigating exploitation risks
According to the report, attacks commenced on average 4.76 days after new exploits were publicly disclosed, underscoring the importance of vendors discovering vulnerabilities internally and developing a patch before exploitation can occur.
It also underscores the importance of vendors being proactive and transparent in disclosing vulnerabilities to ensure their customers are well-informed about protecting their assets against cyberattacks.
“In this climate, vendors and customers have a role to play. Vendors must introduce robust security scrutiny at all stages of the product development life cycle and dedicate themselves to responsible radical transparency in their vulnerability disclosures. With over 26,447 vulnerabilities across more than 2,000 vendors in 2023, as cited by NIST, it is also critical that customers maintain a strict patching regimen to reduce the risk of exploitation,” Manky emphasised.