Introduction to the software supply chain
1. Introduction to the software supply chain
Today, you’ll learn how important it is for you, as a cloud security professional, to secure the software supply chain. The software supply chain includes the people, processes, and tools that play a part in software development. This includes code scripts, people and organizations, third-party dependencies, processes, and more. The software supply chain’s components each have their own security vulnerabilities and can also be attacked. This results in faulty software that can harm your organization and its users. Let's cover the different vulnerabilities of the software supply chain and how threat actors might target it. The people involved in the supply chain are one of the vulnerabilities susceptible to attacks, including developers, security analysts, management, and any person with credentials to the source code repository or system. In fact, employees can be an organization’s biggest vulnerability. Other vulnerabilities in the supply chain are an organization’s processes and policies. This usually happens because of inadequate system access, insecure review cycles and feedback loops, software update rollouts, and even ineffective communication and approval practices. Technology and third-party dependencies also open up your supply chain to attacks. For example, you may unknowingly use dependencies like libraries, plugins, and containers that threat actors tampered with to gain access to your data. Threat actors search for people, process, and technology vulnerabilities in under-protected networks, infrastructure, and coding practices. For example, a hacker might access a business’s system to change source code and even hide malware in an app. The business may then unknowingly release the app to the public, unaware that these malicious changes have been made. Attacks can occur at any stage of the software supply chain, so measures must be taken to ensure the security of resources and data. There are several ways to secure the supply chain to harden your security. Security hardening is the process of strengthening a system to reduce its vulnerabilities and attack surface. One way to protect your supply chain is to implement regular vulnerability checks throughout the CI/CD pipeline. If detected, your organization patches the vulnerability as a measure to strengthen security. Another method is to use a software bill of materials, or SBOM, to address security measures and compliance. An SBOM is a machine-readable list of each piece of software and its components involved in the supply chain. Possessing an SBOM also demonstrates to stakeholders that your project or organization not only applies security measures, but also follows compliance guidelines. Let’s examine the following scenario where a supply chain attack had significant consequences. A software company was recently vulnerable to an attack on many of their network devices. The company was unable to complete certain review cycles and feedback loops due to a shortage of resources and time to roll out their latest software update. Then an attacker accessed the software company’s system, and discovered how to manipulate network traffic and credentials for malicious intent. This example demonstrates the critical need for a cloud security team to secure the software supply chain. Using secure CI/CD pipelines, incorporating security checks, and maintaining an SBOM are all ways to strengthen your organization’s security and better protect your data and your customers’ data.2. Let's practice!
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