Cybersecurity crisis deepens as exploits outpace defenses in 2025

The number of critical vulnerabilities has soared by 650% in just four years. At the same time, attackers are exploiting flaws faster than ever, with the average time to exploit now dropping below seven days. These challenges are pushing cybersecurity teams to adopt more precise and automated solutions. In 2025 alone, 48,172 vulnerabilities were recorded, yet only 0.74% were actively weaponised. This small fraction still poses a major risk, forcing organisations to prioritise threats more effectively. Qualys has responded by refining its tools to cut through the noise, using hyper-prioritisation to focus on what truly matters.

Qualys Agent Val and TruConfirm have validated over 8 million exploitability checks in the past year. These tests, conducted safely in production environments, have slashed false positives by 99.9%. The company’s Extended Threat Management (ETM) platform now applies AI-driven remediation, automating responses for confirmed threats.

The latest updates to Qualys VMDR will speed up vulnerability signature creation from hours to minutes. This improvement will also expand TruConfirm’s reach across more asset types. Meanwhile, the platform already delivers Six Sigma-level accuracy, with zero-day signatures often addressed within hours.

To streamline workflows, Qualys ETM layers three filters—TruRisk, TruLens, and TruRisk Eliminate—turning raw vulnerability data into actionable, ranked alerts. TruRisk Eliminate has also automated patching at scale, deploying over 150 million updates in the last 12 months. Faster exploitation and a flood of vulnerabilities are reshaping cybersecurity strategies. Qualys’ tools now validate threats with near-perfect precision and automate fixes at unprecedented speed. The result is a system that reduces manual effort while keeping critical risks in check.