Twice the Danger from Rising Vulnerabilities and Faster Exploitation

Cyber threats are accelerating at an unprecedented rate. Every year, 30,000 new vulnerabilities are discovered. That means a new vulnerability emerges every 17 minutes. The problem is not just the volume—it is the speed at which these vulnerabilities are being exploited.

In 2018, organizations had an average of 63 days before newly disclosed vulnerabilities were actively exploited. Today, that window has collapsed to just five days. Cybercriminals have cut their time-to-exploit by more than twelve times in just a few years.

At the same time, organizations still take over 100 days on average to patch vulnerabilities. The math does not add up. The gap between discovery and exploitation has narrowed dramatically, while the response time has remained painfully slow.

This is twice the danger in half the time. And most organizations are not prepared for it.

The Race Against Exploitation

The security landscape has fundamentally changed. Attackers are no longer relying on manual techniques or isolated breaches. They are moving faster, scaling operations, and automating attacks at a level that security teams struggle to match.

Several factors are accelerating the exploitation of vulnerabilities:

First, cybercriminals are leveraging AI and automation to speed up attack execution. They can scan for new vulnerabilities, identify exploitable systems, and launch attacks in a matter of hours, not weeks.

Second, cybercrime-as-a-service has created an underground marketplace where even inexperienced attackers can access sophisticated tools and exploit kits. This has dramatically increased the number of potential threats and made attacks more widespread.

Third, supply chain vulnerabilities have multiplied risks. A single weak link in an organization’s ecosystem can compromise entire networks. Attackers no longer need to breach organizations directly; they can go after vendors, partners, or third-party software to gain access.

Fourth, insider threats and human error continue to be major factors. Whether through negligence or malicious intent, internal actors create vulnerabilities that are difficult to detect and prevent.

Fifth, weak regulatory enforcement across regions has allowed attackers to exploit inconsistencies in cybersecurity standards. While some industries enforce strict security measures, others lag behind, creating easy targets.

Organizations are now facing a reality where threats are coming from all directions. The attack surface is expanding, and the time to respond is shrinking.

The Problem with Traditional Security Models

Despite the rise in vulnerabilities and the speed of exploitation, most organizations are still relying on outdated security approaches. DevSecOps has helped integrate security earlier in the software lifecycle, but it largely focuses on development and release—not on what happens once systems are in production.

SecOps, which focuses on detecting and responding to threats, operates separately from development teams, creating silos that slow down security efforts. It is also primarily reactive, meaning security teams are often responding to incidents rather than preventing them.

This separation between DevSecOps and SecOps has left organizations exposed. Security teams are overwhelmed, and existing processes are too slow to keep up with modern attack speeds.

The Cost of Falling Behind

The financial and operational impact of these security gaps is staggering.

• The average cost of a data breach has now reached $4.88 million per incident.
• Sixty-five percent of companies report significant reputational damage following a breach.
• Shadow data—untracked and unprotected data within an organization is creating new security risks that are difficult to monitor or control.

Every delay in addressing vulnerabilities increases the risk of an attack. Organizations that cannot keep up with the accelerating threat landscape are placing their customers, data, and reputation at risk.

The Need for a Smarter Approach

Organizations can no longer afford to treat security as a separate function that operates in silos. Security must be continuous, integrated, and intelligent. 

The future of security is not about faster patching. It is about proactively identifying threats, predicting attack patterns, and responding in real time. A modern security approach should include:

• Lifecycle Security: Security must be embedded from development through operations and maintenance, eliminating handoffs and silos.
• AI-Driven Threat Detection: Automated monitoring and behavioral analysis can identify threats before they escalate.
• Proactive Risk Management: Organizations need to shift from reactive security measures to adaptive security strategies that evolve with the threat landscape.
• Real-Time Security Operations: Security teams must have the ability to detect, analyze, and respond to threats immediately, rather than days or weeks later.

The speed of attacks is increasing, and organizations that do not evolve will continue to fall behind.

Close the Gap Before the Next Breach

Cyber threats are moving faster than ever. Organizations cannot afford to rely on security strategies that were designed for a slower, less complex world.

DASA Intelligent Continuous Security eliminates the gap between DevSecOps and SecOps, embedding security throughout the entire lifecycle. By leveraging real-time monitoring, AI-driven threat detection, and automated security integration, organizations can stay ahead of modern cyber threats.

The speed of attack is only accelerating. The time to act is now. Discover How DASA Intelligent Continuous Security Keeps You Ahead.