Government Hackers Behind Most Zero-Day Exploits in 2024, Says Google

In its latest security report, Google has revealed that government-backed hackers were the top users of zero-day exploits in 2024. Out of the 75 total zero-day vulnerabilities discovered last year, 23 were attributed to state-sponsored actors.

Zero-day exploits are serious software flaws unknown to the vendor at the time of the attack. Google reported that 10 of the exploits were directly linked to governments, five from China and five from North Korea.

Additionally, eight exploits were developed by spyware firms like NSO Group and Cellebrite, which usually sell their tools to government clients. According to Google, such vendors are increasing their operational security to avoid public exposure.

Despite the drop in total exploits from 98 in 2023 to 75 in 2024, cybercriminals still played a role, with 11 attacks tied to ransomware groups targeting business devices.

On a positive note, Google reported stronger defenses from software makers. Features like Apple’s Lockdown Mode and Google’s Memory Tagging Extension are making it harder for hackers to find vulnerabilities.

As spyware vendors continue to grow, driven by global government demand, the cyber threat landscape remains active and evolving.