Google Reveals Shocking Facts: This Country's Government Is Behind Cyber Attacks

JAKARTA - Google has just released a report on the exploit of the zero-day security gap that occurred during 2024. Despite a decrease in the number of cases, the bad news is that most of the exploitation was carried out by hackers backed by governments from several countries.

According to the report, 75 zero-day gaps were exploited throughout 2024. This number is down 23% compared to 2023 which recorded 98 exploits. However, of the 75 cases, Google managed to identify the perpetrators of 34 of them. Shocking facts emerged: 67% of the exploits that were identified were apparently carried out by hackers backed by the government.

Of the 23 exploits carried out by government hackers, 10 of them were carried out by hackers who were directly connected to their state government agencies. In addition, 8 other exploits were carried out by CSV (Commercial Surveillance Vendors), namely hacker groups that work exclusively for the benefit of the government.

In Google's visual report, it is known that:

- 5 exploits carried out by hackers from North Korea

- 5 others by hackers from China

- 1 from Russia

- 1 from South Korea

This only includes detected and successfully distributed exploits by Google. The real numbers on the ground can be much higher.

What Is Zero-Day Exploitation?

The zero-day exploit refers to a security gap in software that developers don't know when hackers start abusing it. Because it is surprising and has not been patched, this exploit is very dangerous and is often used for major attacks such as data theft and cyber espionage.

In general narratives, hackers are often described as individuals or small groups operating outside the system. But in reality, many hackers actually receive funding and protection from the state. The goal can vary, ranging from espionage against other countries to sabotage of important systems.

This report shows that the cyber world is now increasingly becoming a digital war arena between countries. Although the number of exploits has decreased, the level of threat has actually increased due to the country's direct involvement in hacking activities.