Software supply chain security defined

Software supply chain security refers to the practices, policies, and tools used to protect the security of software and its components throughout development and delivery. These tools help defend against cyberattacks that exploit vulnerabilities in the software supply chain—including the source code, artifact repositories, CI/CD pipelines, container registries, and third-party libraries—to gain unauthorized access to the network.

To facilitate the protection of each stage of the software lifecycle, security teams must have full visibility into every component and dependency chain across the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC). To verify that components haven’t been tampered with, these teams should also validate the software supply chain every step of the way to ensure its integrity and trustworthiness.

As software development becomes more complex and reliant on third-party components, the threat landscape is evolving. Supply chain attacks are growing more sophisticated and grander in scale, especially with interconnected systems where a single vulnerability can impact an entire community.

Key components of software supply chain security

Software supply chain security is composed of a range of tools and practices, all designed to safeguard software systems against specific risks. Some key components include:

1. Source code integrity. Supply chain security tools preserve the integrity of software by preserving the integrity of the code repository. This can be accomplished by practicing secure coding practices, establishing version control, and performing regular code reviews.

2. Dependency management. To avoid vulnerabilities that could be introduced from untrusted or outdated third-party components, security teams must track and manage dependencies by maintaining a software bill of materials (SBOM) and performing regular reviews, audits, and updates.

3. Security testing. By adopting a shift-left testing approach, security teams ensure that pivotal security checks, such as application security testing (AST), automatically run throughout the development, build, and deployment process.

4. Access control and identity management. Security teams should impose access controls, such as role-based access control (RBAC) and multifactor authentication (MFA), to limit who can modify or interact with sensitive components. By doing so, only authorized users can make changes, reducing the risk of outside tampering.

5. Risk management. Identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks across the software supply chain is critical for securing the software supply chain. Threat modeling and vulnerability assessments are a couple of well-known risk management tools.

6. Compliance and regulations. Supply chain security helps organizations stay compliant, ensuring that their development processes meet legal and security standards, and that sensitive data is being protected.

7. Continuous monitoring and response. Staying proactive is essential for maintaining supply chain security, which is why many organizations identify and respond to threats with the help of continuous monitoring and response tools such as security information and event management (SIEM) or extended detection and response (XDR).

Understanding software supply chain attacks

A supply chain attack is a cyberattack that targets an organization's external partners, vendors, or service providers to compromise the integrity of software, hardware, or services that the organization relies on. These attacks exploit vulnerabilities in the supply chain to gain unauthorized access and disrupt operations, often without directly targeting the primary organization. Attackers can infiltrate networks by manipulating trusted software updates or compromising third-party providers that are part of the supply chain.

The 2020 SolarWinds attack is a significant example of a supply chain attack. During the highly sophisticated attack, hackers inserted a backdoor into SolarWinds’ Orion software updates. These updates were distributed to thousands of organizations around the world, including government agencies and major corporations, granting the attackers covert access to sensitive data and networks.

Supply chain attacks can have severe impacts on organizations, including data theft, financial losses, breach recovery costs, operational downtime, reputational damage, and IP theft. They often go undetected for long periods, allowing attackers to maintain persistent access to networks. In addition to direct damage, such attacks can result in regulatory and compliance violations, especially if sensitive data is exposed. These breaches highlight the need for organizations to strengthen their security posture across the entire supply chain so that third-party relationships are properly managed and secured.

Common vulnerabilities and how to mitigate them

Supply chain attacks are ever-changing and on the rise. Here are some common threats you might encounter, as well as possible solutions for defending against them—and mitigating their impact.

Malicious code injection

Malicious code injections occur when attackers insert harmful code into your software, leading to data theft or a compromised system. To prevent this, you’ll want to regularly patch and update your software. You’ll also want to ensure that your dependencies are up to date using security tools like Dependabot, which is automated and built into GitHub.

Credential theft

Credential theft occurs when attackers steal sensitive authentication information, such as usernames, passwords, or API keys, to gain unauthorized access to systems or data. To protect yourself, you’ll want to implement MFA and enforce strong password policies. You may also want to look for solutions, such as GitHub Advanced Security, that offer secret scanning, a security feature that blocks sensitive information from showing in your repository and provides push protection to keep them from being exposed in the first place. And lastly, you’ll also want to use signed commits that verify the integrity of your code, ensuring that unauthorized code changes do not get introduced into repositories.

Software tampering

Software tampering occurs when an unauthorized agent modifies software to compromise security or steal data. To mitigate this threat, you’ll want to use security tools that will help you detect unauthorized changes to code. For instance, you might use code scanning in GitHub to find vulnerabilities in a code repo. You may also want to incorporate automated integrity checks that verify signatures and checksums of dependencies throughout the CI/CD pipeline.

Outdated dependencies

Outdated dependencies refer to third-party software components that are no longer being supported and may potentially contain security vulnerabilities. To ensure that only trusted, actively maintained components are included in your software, you’ll want to incorporate regular dependency reviews to help you scan for vulnerabilities.

Dependency confusion

Dependency confusion occurs when an attacker uploads a malicious package to a public package registry with the same name as another dependency, causing the build system to mistakenly use the malicious version. To mitigate this threat, you’ll want to set up security alerts and keep track of your dependencies using a dependency graph.

Typosquatting

Typosquatting is a type of attack where attackers register domain names or package names like real ones, hoping users will mistakenly download malicious software. You can mitigate this threat by taking advantage of domain monitoring, digital signatures, and other package security features to help you ensure the authenticity of your downloads.

Best practices for enhancing software supply chain security

To secure your software supply chain, you’ll want to mitigate risks that could be introduced at any stage of development. Here are some best practices for fortifying the security of your software supply chain:

1. Make security a priority from the start by practicing DevSecOps principles.

2. Adopt a Zero Trust security model where no user, device, or system is trusted by default.

3. Apply the principle of least privilege where any user, system, or application should be given the minimum level of access or permissions necessary.

4. Adopt a shift-left testing approach by requiring security reviews at every stage of development.

5. Include a software bill of materials (SBOM).

6. Secure your continuous integration workflows.

7. Verify that all components and dependencies come from trusted sources and are free of vulnerabilities.

8. Make use of advanced technologies such as generative AI.

9. Use signed commits and artifacts.

10. Perform regular audits and updates of dependencies.

11. Secure the CI/CD pipeline by incorporating automated tests and access restrictions.

12. Continuously monitor for additional threats by automating threat detection and alerts.

13. Establish resiliency across the software supply chain.

Real-world examples of strengthened supply chain security

Following the devastating impact of the SolarWinds attack, many major organizations took significant steps to enhance their software supply chain security. Microsoft began the widespread adoption of Zero Trust principles and MFA to better protect against attacks that exploit trusted relationships. They also implemented a more rigorous vetting process for third-party vendors, improved monitoring for anomalous behavior within its development environment, and adopted advanced code-signing technologies. The company also increased transparency by sharing information about the attack with the broader security community, encouraging greater collaboration.

Security breaches can also lead to new tools that strengthen defenses across the software supply chain. As a proactive measure aimed at better securing open source libraries, GitHub used data from vulnerability databases, such as the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), to create Dependabot and Dependency Graph to provide automated pull requests for security patches—and to automatically detect and fix potential threats across dependencies. When a vulnerability is found, then all applications using that dependency are notified. As a result, developers can keep their components up to date, reduce the risk of introducing malicious code through third-party libraries, and stay ahead of potential supply chain threats.

Future trends in software supply chain security

Future trends in software supply chain security are likely to be shaped by the rise of generative AI agents and automation. As AI-powered tools like GitHub Copilot become more advanced in their capabilities, they may be used to enhance code analysis, automate vulnerability detection, and even assist in creating more secure software from the outset through AI code generation.

This also presents new risks, as attackers may use AI to generate exploits or bypass security measures. Evolving threats such as supply chain ransomware and targeted attacks on the SDLC are expected to increase, making it crucial for organizations to adopt advanced security features, such as AI-powered security monitoring and real-time threat detection.

The increasing complexity of the software supply chain will demand stronger Zero Trust models, tighter partnership between development and security operations, and improved collaboration across vendors and industries to share threat intelligence. Predictive security using AI and machine learning, such as anomaly detection and behavioral analysis, will play a key role in proactively identifying patterns of risk before they escalate, while organizations will need to continuously update their security policies and practices to address the dynamic nature of supply chain vulnerabilities.