AI shrinks zero-day exploit time from a year to a single day, heading toward one minute — Zero-Day Clock warns security window has collapsed
The Zero-Day Clock reveals a dramatic decrease in the time between vulnerability discovery and exploitation, dropping from nearly a year in 2021 to just over a day in 2026. Predictions suggest this could further decline to one hour by 2027, highlighting the urgent need for improved cybersecurity measures. The rise in zero-day exploits, which have increased from 31% to 73.2% in five years, underscores the growing risks in the tech landscape.
- ▪The mean time between a vulnerability being discovered and exploited has decreased significantly, now averaging just over a day.
- ▪The percentage of zero-day exploits has risen from 31% five years ago to 73.2% today.
- ▪The Zero-Day Clock predicts that the average exploit time could drop to one hour by 2027.
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Tech Industry Cybersecurity AI shrinks zero-day exploit time from a year to a single day, heading toward one minute — Zero-Day Clock warns security window has collapsed News By Bruno Ferreira published 26 May 2026 20 years' worth of screaming from security researchers, in graphs and numbers When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Getty Images) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The cybersecurity world has been abuzz about AI-assisted tools finding vulnerabilities faster than ever.
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