61% of Hackers Use New Exploit Code Within 48 Hours of Attack

SonicWall’s 2024 Annual Cyber Threat Report outlines a rapidly evolving threat landscape: attackers adopt new exploit code within 48 hours (61% of cases), ransomware remains the top threat—especially in healthcare where it accounts for 95% of breaches affecting 198M U.S. patients—IoT attacks surged 124%, BEC rose to 33% of insurance events, 210,258 never-before-seen malware variants were logged (637/day), adversaries increasingly use LOLBins, and AI is accelerating file-based threats and SSRF attacks (+452%); recommended defenses include rapid patching, Zero Trust, 24/7 monitoring via MSSPs, segmented ransomware defenses with EDR, and stronger IoT hygiene.