Big tech hit hard by zero-day attacks in 2022: Microsoft, Google, and Apple among targets
"Big tech" companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Apple, were heavily impacted by zero-day attacks in 2022.
VIRGINIA (TechtUSA) - According to a recent report by Mandiant, a leading information security company, hackers exploited 55 zero-day vulnerabilities in 2022. The report has unveiled that Microsoft, Google, and Apple, the three largest technology vendors globally, were the most commonly targeted by hackers for the third consecutive year. Microsoft had the highest number of zero-day vulnerabilities with 18, followed by Google with 10 and Apple with 9.
Zero-day exploits are valuable to hackers as they can be used to launch targeted attacks without being detected by security measures or patched by vendors. To exploit zero-day flaws, hackers often use specialized tools or develop their own code to take advantage of the vulnerability. They may use social engineering techniques to trick employees into opening a malicious file or clicking on a link that leads to a compromised website.
Among the product types that were frequently affected by zero-day vulnerabilities, operating systems had the highest number of vulnerabilities with 19, followed by browsers with 11, security, IT, and network management products with 10, and mobile operating systems with 6.
China was identified as the top country that exploited the most zero-day vulnerabilities in 2022, according to the Mandiant report. North Korea and Russia followed China in the list of countries that exploited zero-day vulnerabilities.
