Supply Chain Security

No business is 100% self-sufficient. Sourcing, procurement, logistics, inventory management, transportation, distribution, operations, sustainability, replenishment, contract management, and other forms of business relationship partnerships are core elements of a typical business. Supply chains typically exist to manage the flow of goods and/or services, until it reaches the final consumers.

Imagine how your business would be impacted if somewhere along the chain of supply that your business is dependent on gets compromised. Threat actors understand these complexities in the supply chain and are increasingly leveraging on it as bait to aim at their intended targets.

For example, Threat Actor A targets Company B but finds it difficult to launch a frontal attack. Company B has a direct relationship with Company C and Company D, where Company C supplies Company D with management software, and Company D manages Company A’s Data Center. A threat actor may prefer targeting Company C (that may not pay much attention to best security practices)to get to Company A; or bait Company D and Company A bites the dust. The point —your organization’s supply chain increases the threat surface area that a malicious threat actor can exploit to your comprise. Therefore, organizations need to be proactive and take measures to guarantee the safety and integrity of their supply chains.

As stated in the example, one of the top risks associated with supply chain security is the potential for third-party vendors and suppliers to introduce vulnerabilities into an organization’s systems and networks, particularly when suppliers disregard best practices for cybersecurity. Additionally, vendors may unintentionally introduce malware or malicious code into an organization’s infrastructure.

Another vulnerability in supply chain security is the potential for cyber attackers to exploit weaknesses in an organization’s supply chain to gain access to sensitive data or systems. For example, attackers may spearphish employees of a supplier, compromise the supplier’s systems and ultimately gain access to your organization’s classified data.

The threats to supply chain security are many and varied. A good example is how the Solarwinds Sunburst breach impacts the majority of SolarWinds customers who depend on the compromised software applications used by many IT-centric organizations and data centres. In a supply chain attack, attackers compromise a supplier’s systems and use that access to introduce malicious code into an organization’s systems and networks. Other threats include data breaches, insider threats, and denial-of-service attacks.

Supply chain security has become a crucial part of any serious organization’s security strategy. Your business can be better at safeguarding its systems and data from cyber threats by promptly recognizing potential supply chain risks and vulnerabilities and addressing them. A future article will discuss specifics on how you can effectively manage supply chain risks.