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Cybersecurity

What is Supply Chain Attack?

Quick answer

A cyberattack that compromises a trusted supplier, software vendor, or component in order to reach that supplier's customers.

Supply Chain Attack, explained

Rather than attacking a well-defended target directly, criminals compromise something the target already trusts: a software update, an open source library, a managed service provider, or a hardware supplier. The malicious code or access then spreads to every organization that uses it.

A well-known example is the SolarWinds incident disclosed in December 2020, in which attackers inserted malicious code into updates of a widely used IT management product, reaching government agencies and companies. Attacks on open source packages, such as publishing lookalike packages with names similar to popular ones, are also common. Defenses include keeping a software bill of materials, vetting and limiting vendor access, verifying software signatures, monitoring third-party connections, and applying least privilege to tools that have broad access to systems.

Related terms

Open Source

Software whose source code is publicly available under a license that lets anyone use, study, modify, and share it.

Principle of Least Privilege

A security rule that people, programs, and devices should have only the minimum access needed to do their job, and no more.

Software Bill of Materials

A detailed list, known as an SBOM, of all the components, libraries, and versions that make up a piece of software.

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