Supply chain attacks have become one of the most pressing security threats facing organisations today. By targeting third-party vendors and software supply chains, attackers can inject malicious code directly into legitimate products, gaining access to sensitive information, intellectual property, and customer data across entire networks.
What makes these attacks particularly dangerous is their stealth: sophisticated compromises can go undetected for months, silently spreading through corporate infrastructure.
The knock-on effects can be devastating, affecting not just the initial target but countless organisations downstream from the initially affected business.
This blog will provide expert insight into supply chain attacks and their potential impact. We will also cover recommended security measures and prevention strategies to help your organisation identify and mitigate supply chain compromises before they cause irreparable damage.
Understanding Supply Chain Attacks
A supply chain attack is a type of cyberattack that targets vulnerabilities within a business’s supply chain, allowing hackers to exploit them for their own gain. Any organisation that relies on third-party vendors or software is vulnerable to supply chain attacks, making it a significant risk for companies across all industries.
Supply chain attacks can either target your organisation’s software or hardware, with each type of attack presenting an equal amount of potential risk and damage.
Software supply chain attacks are cyberattacks that compromise software development environments and processes by injecting malicious code into legitimate software components, affecting numerous organisations and user accounts downstream.
Hardware supply chain attacks are attacks that target physical components and network components within the supply chain, such as compromised microchips or other network components, enabling threat actors to access corporate infrastructure and steal sensitive data remotely.
These attacks can be used to inject malicious code, gain access to corporate systems, and steal sensitive data, including customer information and intellectual property.
The ultimate goal of a supply chain attack is often to obtain remote access to a company’s network, allowing attackers to perform malicious actions and steal sensitive data, which can in turn be exploited for monetary gain.
Software Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
With so many organisations relying on off-the-shelf components and third-party software, it’s no surprise that software supply chain attacks affect a huge array of global businesses.
These components can be vulnerable to attack, allowing malicious code to be injected into the software development lifecycle. The bigger your supply chain, and the greater your reliance on third-party vendors, the broader your attack surface.
Supply chain attacks can have various objectives, including ransom, sabotage, and intellectual property theft. They can also exploit vulnerabilities in the physical flow of assets and the virtual flow of data or software.
Software vendors and third-party providers should prioritise security measures to prevent supply chain attacks and protect customer data.
The additional use of AI and machine learning tooling by businesses can also introduce new vulnerabilities into the software supply chain, adding a further need for proactive and effective security controls.
Many supply chain attacks also emerge from open-source projects and third-party tools, highlighting the importance of risk assessments and due diligence.
Third-Party Risks in the Supply Chain
What exactly is meant by a ‘third-party’ risk? Third parties refer to any vendor that your business uses that is not yourself or your customer. For example, this could be AWS cloud services, payment processors like PayPal, or marketing services like Google Ads or HubSpot.
Naturally, most companies will rely on some kind of third-party or managed service provider, which, in turn, introduces risks.
Third-party risks can be mitigated through due diligence, risk assessments, and the implementation of robust security controls, including antivirus software, multi-factor authentication and privileged account management.
The use of infected libraries and compromised third-party components can also introduce risks into the supply chain, highlighting the need for regular security updates and patches.
How can businesses prevent supply chain attacks?
To prevent supply chain attacks and minimise your attack surface, we recommend the implementation of robust security measures.
- Implement multi-factor authentication for employees.
- Conduct regular risk assessments and vulnerability detection to identify potential weaknesses in the supply chain
- Enforce the use of secure coding practices and software development lifecycle management can also help prevent supply chain attacks and minimise the spread of unsafe code.
- Organisations should also prioritise incident response planning and security incident management to quickly respond to and contain supply chain attacks.
- The implementation of a zero-trust model can also help prevent chain attacks by limiting access to sensitive data and systems.
- Be proactive in defending against supply chain attacks with a pentesting programme. Penetration testing simulates real-world hacking activities, comprehensively evaluating your digital defences. By engaging in pentesting, businesses can uncover and rectify vulnerabilities before malicious hackers exploit them, keeping you well-protected against supply chain attacks.
Supply Chain Security Measures
Here’s how to best actionably enforce supply chain security measures within your organisation:
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Security Measure
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Implementation Actions
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Key Benefits
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Enforcement Strategy
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|---|---|---|---|
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Technical Security Controls
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Deploy firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) across all supply chain touch points
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Monitors and blocks unauthorised access attempts; detects suspicious network activity in real-time
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Mandate technical security requirements in supplier contracts; conduct regular audits of supplier security infrastructure
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Patch Management Programme
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Establish an ISMS and systematic process for applying security updates and patches to all software and hardware components; prioritise critical vulnerabilities
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Closes security gaps before they can be exploited; reduces attack surface and sophisticated supply chain attacks
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Require suppliers to maintain current patch levels; implement automated patch management systems with verification protocols
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Secure Communications & Encryption
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Implement end-to-end encryption for data in transit; use secure protocols (TLS 1.3, HTTPS, SFTP) for all supplier communications
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Protects sensitive data from interception; ensures confidentiality and integrity of supply chain information
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Define minimum encryption standards in supplier agreements; conduct regular security assessments of communication channels
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Security Awareness Training
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Deliver regular training programmes on supply chain threats, social engineering, and incident reporting procedures for all employees
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Helps staff to recognise and report suspicious activity; creates a security-conscious culture and prevents numerous attacks
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Make training mandatory for all personnel with supply chain access; track completion rates and test knowledge retention
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Supply Chain Risk Management Programme
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Conduct comprehensive risk assessments of all suppliers, map supply chain dependencies, and establish continuous monitoring capabilities.
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Identifies vulnerabilities before they’re exploited; enables proactive risk mitigation; improves supply chain visibility
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Implement a third-party risk management framework; require third-party suppliers to complete security questionnaires and provide evidence of controls
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How can Penetration Testing Help Defend Against Supply Chain Attacks?
Penetration testing helps prevent supply chain attacks by actively uncovering and resolving vulnerabilities within your network, systems, and, importantly, those of your third-party vendors and software dependencies.
By emulating real-world attack scenarios, pentesting goes beyond basic security questionnaires to deliver comprehensive insights into weak spots before attackers have a chance to exploit them.
Achieve security peace of mind with OnSecurity’s AI-augmented penetration testing services, hosted on our simple-to-use platform. Get an instant quote today.
