Can Antivirus Software Protect Against Zero-Day Exploits?

The threat of cyberattacks remains an ongoing concern as we become even more dependent on our devices. Whether it’s for work or personal reasons, using devices without any antivirus software provides opportunity for hackers.

The effects of these cyberattacks can be costly, either financially or in terms of reputation. Phishing is the most common tactic, where victims willingly provide their passwords or credit card information as the hacker impersonates somebody they know. This can then lead to identity theft, where hackers can impersonate you after gaining access to your accounts.

For businesses, the typical threats are ransomware where they are locked out of their devices until they pay to gain access again or data breaches, exposing their private company data.

While antivirus programs are usually the first line of defence, are they able to provide enough protection against zero-day exploits?

 

What Are ‘Zero-Day’ Threats?

 

Zero-day threats are security “weak spots” in software or systems that are unknown to the company that made them. Hackers are able to identify these vulnerabilities and use them to gain access before the developers can get round to fixing them.

The term comes from the fact that the software company has had “zero days” to fix the defect before it is exploited. These attacks are usually the most damaging because they can happen without any warning. Moreover, these weak spots won’t have any patches yet to fix them, leaving users exposed to hackers.

 

The Process Of A Zero-Day Exploit

 

What makes zero-day exploits so dangerous is the fact that the system’s vulnerability is not documented. This gives hackers free reign to carry out their attacks which will go unnoticed by developers.

Nowadays, there are automation tools that hackers use to help find where the weak spots are. Once they have found what they are looking for, they will create a specific code to leverage the vulnerability.

After this, the code will be deployed to gain access into the device’s system. Based on what the hacker’s goal is, it will be able to disrupt the system or access sensitive information.

By the time the vulnerability has been discovered by developers and they create a patch to fix it, the damage would have already taken place.

 

 

How Traditional Antivirus Systems Work

 

Antivirus software was designed to be able to locate and remove suspicious documents, links, apps or downloads in case they had malicious intent. They work by running in the background while you use your device, constantly scanning for threats.

Some work by using signature-based detection. It will be able to access a database of threats that have already been identified, and will compare suspected threats against them. If there is a positive match, the threat is then isolated or removed completely before it can cause any damage to the device.

While these are effective against known threats, they are limiting because they cannot offer protection from zero-day exploits. This is due to the fact that these don’t have any existing signatures to make them identifiable.

Antivirus also makes use of heuristic analysis, where code is studied to see whether or not it could be dangerous. The limitation here is that zero-day exploits are subtle by nature, and it may go undetected by this kind of analysis.

 

Can Zero-Day Threats Be Mitigated?

It is evident that some antivirus software may not be able to combat zero-day exploits entirely on their own. But as cybersecurity technology continues to become more advanced, ways to mitigate these threats are being worked on to roll out in the coming years.

One of these is Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). These systems are designed to continuously monitor certain endpoints, such as your computer or server, for any unusual activity. Their capabilities do extend to being able to provide insight as to how to respond to zero-day threats.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will be incorporated into detection patterns to be able to find threats in real-time, that traditional antivirus software isn’t able to identify.

Additionally, Next-Generation Antivirus (NGAV) will be able to look at the normal ways in which a system behaves in order to be able to find any abnormalities. By using this behavioural analysis approach, it will have a better chance of finding potential zero-day exploits.

 

Can Antivirus Alone Offer Enough Protection?

 

In short, the answer is no. When it comes to cybersecurity, there is no one single tool that will be able to provide complete protection on its own.

A comprehensive security approach will be multi-layered, including using antivirus softwares together with firewalls, making sure that your devices are regularly updated to make use of new security features, and using secure networks where possible.

It is also beneficial to be aware of new cybercrime tactics and threats as they emerge, and how to spot suspicious activity on your devices. This can go a long way in protecting yourself and your information from unauthorised access.