Rising supply chain attacks: a worrisome battle we must confront

The alarming rise of supply chain attacks poses a major threat to cybersecurity, according to Kamil Fedorko, Global Cybersecurity Practice Leader at Intellias. With attacks increasing by almost 750% annually between 2019 and 2022, cybercriminals are finding increasingly integrated digital supply chains to be an effective way to access networks and data. Supply chain attacks are successful when cyber criminals exploit weaknesses in less secure suppliers, vendors, or partners of the target organisation. While the concept of attacking digital supply chains has been around for years, it gained significant attention following the SolarWinds breach in 2020. Threat actors have since focused on supply chains with high-profile attacks on Okta and Kojima Industries Corp. Fedorko identifies two types of supply chain attacks: macro and micro. Macro attacks target widely used corporate systems and have been responsible for major incidents. Micro attacks focus on specific technologies and vulnerabilities and may be exploited by Advanced Persistent Threat groups and government-backed hacking units. Ransomware and malware are increasingly used in supply chain attacks, often incorporating sophisticated languages like RUST and GO. Organisations exposed to supply chain vulnerabilities need to take steps to reinforce security, such as implementing comprehensive software updates and patches to minimise risks. Systems should be monitored for Indicators of Compromise, and zero-trust approaches to cybersecurity should be considered to prevent lateral movement within supply chains. Organisations should also focus on backup, recovery, and incident-response policies and technologies to restore systems quickly if an incident occurs. Without significant investment in prevention, mitigation, and recovery, more organisations will suffer from successful supply chain attacks as digital integration increases.