How Can A Zero-Day Attack Be Detected And Prevented?

Zero-day attacks are one of the most deadly cyber-attacks that give no chance for the victims to deal with them. They are so quick and fierce that it is really hard to detect and prevent them. Zero-day attacks are called so because of their novelty and quick execution, which gives no time to the user involved in this type of attack. These attacks exploit vulnerabilities in the system, software, and online networks that are not known to the vendor or provider. Cybercriminals exploit these vulnerabilities and security gaps in the systems and devices to launch zero-day attacks. You have to take extra caution and proactive safety measures to deal with the zero-day attacks. This blog provides you with effective methods to detect and prevent zero-day attacks, keeping your digital devices and personal information safe from all dangers.

Written by R K Dutt
Published on August 7, 2025

What is a Zero-Day Attack?

A Zero-day attack is a cyber attack that targets devices that contain some type of software or system vulnerability. Zero-day attacks use bugs and new malware to exploit unknown software vulnerabilities in the target device to infiltrate and compromise the security. Zero-day refers to the fact that the developers and software vendors have zero days to fix the vulnerability in the device, and they even have no idea that they exist. Attackers find the vulnerabilities before the vendors of software developers can, and exploit the flaw before a patch or fix is available to address the vulnerability.

Why are Zero-day Attacks Difficult to Detect and Prevent?

Zero-day attacks are highly severe and unstoppable in terms of compromising the privacy, network security, and personal data of targeted individuals and organizations. It is due to their novelty that makes it really difficult to detect and prevent them with the help of security software and built-in defense systems. Attackers discover the vulnerability in the software, hardware, or firmware. Then they built a new malware to exploit the newly found system vulnerability. The new malware or bug does not come to the radar of the security software as it is completely new in behavior and structure. As a result, no antivirus can detect these malicious programs until the vulnerability is found and fixed.

Since new malware is not stored in the malware definition database of the antivirus defense mechanism, it easily bypasses the security checkpoints without getting flagged as suspicious or malicious. The zero-day attack remains undetected and untrackable until the vulnerability is discovered and fixed by the vendor. Until then, it is difficult to detect and prevent compromised device data and security. Cybercriminals often use these malicious attacks in high-profile cyberattacks, cyberwarfare, or espionage to successfully disrupt and damage the digital operations of their targets.

How to Detect and Prevent Zero-day Attacks?

No doubt, Zero-day attacks are highly deceptive and undetectable, but they are not impossible to deal with. If you are following safety rules while browsing the internet and using your device for different types of tasks, then it would be much easier to deal with the potential dangers. If you want to stay safe from the Zero-day attacks, then here are some effective safety measures that keep you one step ahead and beat the cyber attacks at the first instance:

1. Verify Every User and Device Before Access

Use a never trust and always verify policy to protect your device from unseen malicious threats. Do not provide privileged access to your sensitive accounts and systems to everyone. Even if you do so, make sure you constantly verify every user and device, whether internal or external, before you give them privileged access. In technical terms, it is called a zero-trust policy, where you monitor every user working with your accounts and personal devices. You can achieve this strict verification policy by:

Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users.
Enforce device posture checks (e.g., endpoint protection status).
Monitor and log all access and session activities in your organization.

2. Break the Network Into Zones to Contain Threats

The second most important thing you can do to boost your security and prevent unseen threats is to break down your network into small and isolated segments. Using this method, you can easily monitor and control the network activities in your organization. You can use a firewall or VLANs to segment the network and critical assets. It helps you prevent the lateral movements of attackers to infiltrate your organization and reach the other endpoints integrated into the digital networks.

3. Restrict User Permissions to the Minimum Required

You should permit less privileged users access to the critical devices. Make sure that you provide limited user permissions to the digital devices and apps that enable fulfilling the basic tasks without obstruction and security threats. In this regard, the practices you can observe are to:

Regularly review and audit permissions.
Use role-based access control (RBAC) and time-bound access for sensitive tasks.
Implement just-in-time (JIT) access provisioning.

4. Keep Systems Up-to-Date

Keeping your systems up-to-date is one of the most important things if you want to stay ahead and beat the latest cyber threats. Although you cannot prevent Zero-day threats by simply downloading the new patches, you can reduce the attack surface and post-exploit movement. Until then, you can wait for the right patch to fix the vulnerability that invites the zero-day exploits. But you must download all the new updates as soon as they are made available. In this regard, you can also implement the following safety practices:

Automate patch management systems.
Prioritize patching based on threat intelligence and CVSS scores.
Monitor vendor advisories for emergency updates.

5. Use Behavioral Threat Detection Tools

Use an advanced antivirus software that scans system behavior to detect anomalies and suspicious programs, suggesting malicious activity. It monitors system behavior in real time to spot suspicious behaviors that are indicative of unknown malware or malicious activities in the device. Along with this, you can also take the following security arrangements:

Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) and extended detection and response (XDR).
Set baselines for normal behavior, then alert on deviations.
Use User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) for context-aware insights.

6. Allow Only Approved Apps to Run

It is highly important that you allow only trusted and legitimate applications to run on your system. If there are potentially unwanted apps and potentially unwanted programs, then you must recognize them and get rid of them. It will minimize the potential risks and security vulnerabilities from your device. One more important thing in this regard that you have to remember is to use only official and trusted platforms to get your apps and programs. Avoid using third-party platforms to get your apps and programs.

7. Keep Untrusted Programs Separate From Your System

Whenever you download or install a new file on your system, you must open it in a separate space that is not directly connected to your main system. You can use a sandbox or similar tool that creates an isolated environment to open the suspicious files and programs to detect the malicious content inside them. It helps you prevent malicious software from slipping into your device and compromising sensitive data inside it.

8. Be Prepared to Handle Attacks

You must always have a plan to respond to security incidents to prevent the latest attacks as soon as they are launched. In this regard, you can also use a Security Operations Center (SOC) or Managed Detection & Response (MDR) services to ensure 24/7 visibility. You should keep a backup of all the files and important documents to minimize the damage and stay on track if any mishap takes place.

What to Do After a Zero-Day Attack?

Well, if you ever come across or experience any zero-day attack, then here are some quick tips that you should follow to prevent and minimize the damage:

1. Isolate the Affected Systems

Immediately disconnect compromised systems from the network.
Stop the spread of malware or unauthorized access.

2. Activate Your Incident Response Plan

Inform your incident response team or SOC.
Begin executing predefined protocols for detection, containment, and recovery.
If no plan exists, write your actions in real time.

3. Notify Stakeholders

Inform internal teams (IT, legal, PR, leadership).
If needed, notify the regulators, affected customers, users, and partners.

4. Change Credentials and Keys

Assume credentials may have been stolen.
Reset passwords, rotate API keys, tokens, and SSL certificates.

5. Restore Systems Securely

Rebuild or clean affected systems from known good backups.
Revalidate them before reconnecting to the network.
Never restore from backups made after the compromise.

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