Zero-Day Vulnerabilities Nearly Double in 2014

Zero-day vulnerabilities nearly doubled last year to 25 up from 14 in 2013. That’s according to a new report from IT security software provider Secunia.

The Microsoft (MSFT) Internet Explorer exploit used in Operation Clandestine Fox, Heartbleed and CCS Injection were three zero-day vulnerabilities that affected both managed service providers (MSPs) and their customers in 2014.

What’s more, the report shows that 80 percent of all zero-day vulnerabilities were discovered in the 25 most popular products (Microsoft applications, non-Microsoft applications and operating systems).

Other Secunia findings included:

So how can MSPs help customers eliminate security vulnerabilities? Kasper Lindgaard, Secunia’s director of research and security, pointed out that businesses need “to stay on top of their environment.”

“IT teams need to have complete visibility of the applications that are in use, and they need firm policies and procedures in place, in order to deal with the vulnerabilities as they are disclosed,” he said in a prepared statement.

The annual “Secunia Vulnerability Review” provides global data on the prevalence of security vulnerabilities.

Full “Secunia Vulnerability Review 2015” results are available for download here.

What are your thoughts on Secunia’s new report? Share your thoughts about this story in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at [email protected].