The JFrog Security research team continuously monitors popular open-source software (OSS) repositories with our automated tooling to avert potential software supply chain security threats, and reports any vulnerabilities or malicious packages discovered to repository maintainers and the wider community. At times, we notice trends that are worth analyzing and learning from.
Over the past several years, hackers have gone from targeting only companies to also targeting their supply chain. One area of particular vulnerability is company software supply chains, which are becoming an increasingly common method of gaining access to valuable business information. A study by Gartner predicted that by 2025, 45% of companies will have experienced a supply chain attack.
SCITT in the information security context stands for “Supply Chain Integrity, Transparency, and Trust”. It’s a relatively young discipline and the dust is still settling over its scope and definition but the core is very simple: risk vests in the operator of equipment, but it originates at every point in the supply chain.
As cyber attacks and security breaches have increased in recent years, managing digital supply chain risks is becoming more difficult. Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in the ecosystem of less secure suppliers and third-party vendors to gain access to larger institutions. These institutions need to look beyond their own cybersecurity maturity to be successful; cyber risks need to be identified across the ecosystem.
Cyber attacks and data breaches are top of mind for businesses around the world as attacks on vulnerable networks persist. It is more important than ever to ensure cyber security and resilience programs are in place for your business and third-party suppliers. The information and communications technology (ICT) supply chain is a globally-interconnected ecosystem that involves CT software, hardware, and services including suppliers, vendors, and contractors.
The software supply chain indicates the formal workflow of how your software moves through the coding stages done by the developers to the final packages for the end-users. When an attacker breaks in between the process and modifies the source code with malicious ones, it is known as an attack on the software supply chain. Software supply chain attacks are challenging to discover and mitigate if you do not have the proper verification and trail-tracking system, especially for large industries.
The last 24 months has seen a steady stream of media attention relating to attacks on the supply chain. The impact is real, as is the cost. We have watched both big name security like SolarWinds and open source such as log4js serve as targets with devastating effects. Quite often the methods used have anecdotally relied on technical means and to a lesser degree social engineering.
