Zero-Day Exploit

Once a computer vulnerability is exposed to the general public, there is a very real danger that malicious parties will exploit the vulnerability before it can be repaired. In other instances, the hacker may be the very first to discover the vulnerability and may announce it to the general public. In this case, the software company or individual may not be notified in time to fix the vulnerability, giving hackers just enough time to exploit it. To guard against this type of exploitation, companies can enlist various protection measures including network access controls, lockdowns of wireless access entries, virtual local area networks and intrusion detection systems.