Suppliers, vendors, third-party contractors, and clients, compose a pool of opportunities for malicious actors. The software supply chain then presents an extended attack surface that attackers can exploit. This situation leads to an upward trend in these attacks. For instance, in 2021, software supply chain attacks tripled, according to a study. Famous attacks included Solar Winds, Codecov, and Log4j, leaving thousands of compromised victims.
What makes software supply chains attractive for attackers? The interconnectivity of the software supply chain makes it possible for attackers to compromise a single point in the chain and cause maximum damage. Thus, supply chain risk management is a must for any company along the chain, from developers to distributors. This article will explore the basics of risk management for software supply chains.
What are the main risks in the software supply chain?
The software supply chain is interconnected, with a mix of open-source, proprietary, and third-party libraries or resources. A vulnerability in any part of the software—for example, in any dependency—can spread further into the supply chain.
Three primary risks can compromise the software supply chain:
- Compromised pipeline tools
According to the Argon report, a compromised pipeline tool will enable attackers to change or inject malicious code and disrupt the application. By getting access to the pipeline, cybercriminals can access external dependencies and use them to carry on further attacks.
Examples of these methods are the SolarWinds and the Codecov attacks.
- Vulnerabilities in open-source code
There is hardly an application today that doesn’t have open-source components. They are helpful and speed up the development process. However, developers can add underlying vulnerabilities and issues to the new application when they include open-source components without checking them properly.
Attackers prefer to abuse vulnerabilities in popular and widespread applications, preferably already installed. For example, what happened in the Log4j attacks. Another way cybercriminals exploit open-source vulnerabilities is by poisoning packages before the software is downloaded. An example of this type of attack was the us-parser-js package poisoning.
- Source code integrity issues
Another common attack vector is when poorly secured code gets uploaded to the source code. Doing this increases the level of exposure and leads to vulnerabilities. Applying secure code best practices and using static application testing tools can prevent code security risks.
Implementing supply chain risk management can prevent supply chain attacks.
Applying supply risk management practices and tools help security teams to identify hidden risks and effectively prevent supply chain attacks. Typically, the risk management process implies monitoring, identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks. By doing so, organizations benefit from a stronger security posture. Here are some of the advantages of implementing risk management:
- Reduced risk: An efficient risk management strategy provides visibility into the entire supply chain. It enables you to identify threats and vulnerabilities, fixing them before becoming a disaster.
- Enhanced compliance: The recent wave of software supply attacks led to tightening security and data privacy regulations. There are government initiatives in place to enhance organizations’ security posture. Implementing risk management can help stay ahead and meet compliance regulations.
- Streamlined operations: With risk management software installed, vulnerabilities and issues are solved before disrupting the development process. Therefore, the production pipeline can move faster, resulting in faster releases.
How does supply chain risk management software work?
Supply chain risk management solutions leverage artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to monitor and assess large and dynamic datasets. The best tools use AI to detect vulnerabilities in packages and open-source dependencies.
Besides artificial intelligence, the advanced analytics present in supply chain risk management software identify risk patterns and predict potential future scenarios. By including behavioral analytics in the analysis, the tool enables organizations to react quickly to risks.
Tips for managing risk effectively in your software supply chain
Just installing the software won’t protect you effectively against software supply chain risks. You need to implement best practices to make risk management a company strategy.
First, assess your current risk management strategy. Determine your level of risk what strategies you have in place to mitigate them.
Second, map your software supply chain: It will prepare you to have complete visibility over your software components. By doing this, you will understand the details and origins of each component in your supply chain.
Second, make risk management a company-wide strategy: Managing risks in the software supply chain is not a matter exclusive to the security team. To be effective, risk management needs to permeate the entire organization. Train your staff on how to recognize, prevent and prepare for threats. It can go a long way when installing the software.
Final thoughts
With supply chain attacks on the rise, security teams and developers need to define a new security strategy and take actions to prevent risks. Producing secure code is a start, but to effectively identify and mitigate risks, risk management software can boost the security of your development environment.
