Supply Chain Attacks: A Comprehensive Overview
Cybersecurity isn’t about protecting just one company. It’s about keeping an entire web of relationships safe; including suppliers, partners, and vendors that work together to help businesses run smoothly. These connections create weak spots that attackers can take advantage of (i.e. supply chain attacks), using trusted paths to sneak into organizations.
Understanding how these supply chain attacks work helps businesses better prepare and protect themselves against these sneaky threats.
What is a Supply Chain?
The supply chain is basically the team of companies and people that work together to get a product or service from start to finish. This includes suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and service providers. It often stretches over different countries and includes many steps.
Attackers do this by sneaking in malware or malicious code into software or services that companies trust. Once inside, they can move around and cause damage across several businesses connected through the supply chain.
How to Spot Supply Chain Attacks
- Watch for Strange Behavior:
Keep an eye out for unusual activity like unexpected file transfers, strange network traffic, or sudden system changes. - Secure Software Practices:
Use tools like code signing and software bills of materials (SBOM) to make sure the software coming in is legitimate and hasn’t been tampered with. - Check Your Vendors:
Before partnering with anyone, look closely at how seriously they take security. Identify any weak points. - Look for Anomalies:
Use technology to notice behavior that doesn’t fit normal patterns; like weird login attempts or odd system use.
How to Prevent Supply Chain Attacks
- Carefully evaluate your suppliers and vendors before teaming up.
- Have clear contracts that spell out security expectations and require regular security checks.
- Train your employees to recognize phishing and social engineering tricks often used to start attacks.
- Keep all your software and systems updated to patch any security holes.
Some Well-Known Supply Chain Attacks
- SolarWinds (2020): Hackers inserted a backdoor into a software update from SolarWinds, which infected thousands of organizations, including government agencies and big companies.
- CCleaner (2017): Attackers put malware into updates for CCleaner software used by millions worldwide, gaining access and stealing data.
- NotPetya (2017): Malware that started in Ukraine spread through infected software updates and caused massive disruptions in many industries globally.
Challenges and What Can Help
Because supply chains are complicated and full of trusted partners, it’s hard to spot attacks quickly. But by getting better at checking risks, sharing information openly, and having strong security measures, companies can get better at spotting and stopping these attacks.
What is a supply chain attack?
It’s when hackers target a company’s vendors or suppliers instead of attacking the company directly to gain access to its systems.
Can you give an example?
The SolarWinds hack in 2020 is a clear example, where attackers used a software update to access thousands of organizations worldwide.