"Surge in Zero-Day Exploits Linked to Spyware Vendors and State-Sponsored Attacks"

Google researchers observed a 50% increase in zero-day exploits in 2023, with 97 instances exploited in the wild, attributing 48 to espionage actors and 10 to financially-motivated hackers. Commercial spyware vendors were responsible for the majority of in-the-wild zero-day exploits targeting end-users, with 75% of known exploits targeting Google products and the Android ecosystem. Chinese and Belarusian state-sponsored hackers were also identified as leveraging zero-day vulnerabilities in their campaigns. The report warns that the exploitation of zero-days is no longer limited to a few actors and is likely to continue increasing, emphasizing the need for vendor investments in security to mitigate these threats.