Liam Tung
| August 3, 2021 — 11:28 GMT (12:28 BST)
| Topic: Security
The supply chain might be a company’s weakest spot
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The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has analyzed 24 recent software supply chain attacks and concluded that strong security protection is no longer enough.
Recent supply chain attacks in its analysis include those through SolarWinds Orion software, CDN provider Mimecast, developer tool Codecov, and enterprise IT management firm Kaseya.
ENISA focuses on Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) supply chain attacks and notes that while the code, exploits and malware was not considered “advanced”, the planning, staging, and execution were complex tasks. It notes 11 of the supply chain attacks were conducted by known APT groups.
ENISA recommends suppliers:
ensure that the infrastructure used to design, develop, manufacture, and deliver products, components and services follows cybersecurity practices;implement a product development, maintenance and support process that is consistent with commonly accepted product development processes;monitor security vulnerabilities reported by internal and external sources, including third-party components;maintain an inventory of assets that includes patch-relevant information.
The SolarWinds attack for example rattled Microsoft whose president Brad Smith said it was the “largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen” and that it probably took 1,000 engineers to pull off. Alleged Russian intelligence hackers compromised SolarWinds’ software build system for Orion to plant a backdoor that was distributed as a software to several US cybersecurity firms and multiple federal agencies.
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The US Department of Justice (DoJ) revealed last week that 27 districts’ Microsoft Office 365 email systems were compromised for at least six months beginning in May 2020.
The rise of state-sponsored supply chain attacks and criminal ransomware attacks that combine supply chain attacks, such as the Kaseya incident, has shifted the focus of discussions between the US and Russia.
US president Joe Biden last week said a major cyberattack would be the likely cause of the US entering a “real shooting war” with another superpower.
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Liam Tung
| August 3, 2021 — 11:28 GMT (12:28 BST)
| Topic: Security