Recently, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) shared its latest plan to improve cyber defenses by mitigating threats to remote monitoring & management (RMM) systems, which are critical to enabling troubleshooting and managing client endpoints, networks and computers. RMM software breaches are a common tactic employed by threat actors to penetrate service providers and to infiltrate thousands of customer networks.
CISA’s move underscores the imperative nature of protecting software and digital supply chains connecting service providers to their customers, as threats often go undetected until it’s too late.
According to IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report, it takes an average of 277 days for businesses to identify a data breach. The report explains that it takes 207 days to identify the breach and another 70 days to contain it. These 277 days can be detrimental as it gives cybercriminals more time to navigate through a company’s systems and infiltrate the digital supply chain.
Understanding your digital supply chain risks is crucial for safeguarding your business operations, reputation and customer trust. In today’s interconnected digital landscape, businesses rely heavily on complex networks, data exchanges, and third-party collaborations. Failing to comprehend the inherent risks within this intricate web can lead to severe consequences.
Cybersecurity threats pose significant financial and operational risks. Moreover, reputational damage due to security breaches can erode customer trust and loyalty, potentially resulting in lost customers and partners. Digital supply chain risk is not just about protecting sensitive data; it's about ensuring the continuity of business, preserving customer confidence and maintaining a competitive edge in the market.
The Expanding Attack Surface
As companies embrace digital transformation to stay competitive and provide a better customer experience, they are adopting new technologies, cloud services, SaaS and more.
As enterprises become increasingly dependent on vendors’ servers and services, their external attack surfaces and digital supply chains are expanding rapidly. A recent report found that cyber assets grew by 133% from 2022 to 20231, and a 2023 survey found that among respondents, the average enterprise had 88 third-party partners2.
In this dynamic landscape, third-party vendors and service providers have become a lucrative target for threat actors. While the benefits of partnering with service providers are numerous, organizations must also realize that these digital supply chains come with greater cyber risks. Dramatic but true, one compromised link can propagate risk throughout the entire supply chain.
For instance, an attacker may gain access to a service provider and, through agents, software or connections, infiltrate multiple organizations within the service provider’s supply chain. CISA’s plan aims to mitigate this risk.
Weakness in the Supply Chain
Supply chain risks have come into focus in the past couple of years. However, security tools provide limited protection as asset owners fail to map their connected digital supply chains. Frankly, many organizations are struggling to manage their own inventory of assets and maintain consistent security, so it’s not surprising that few enterprises have been systematically engaged in discovering, assessing or monitoring their third-party, fourth-party, and nth party connections.
Perhaps because of this, exploiting vulnerable digital supply chain connections is often the path of least resistance for breaching an organization. As a result, digital supply chains are susceptible to various cyber attacks, such as phishing, ransomware, DDoS attacks, data breaches and malware, which can disrupt operations and compromise sensitive data.
There are a host of reasons for vulnerabilities in the digital supply chain. Some vendors may be using outdated or unpatched software, creating security loopholes that attackers can exploit. A vendor may employ weak encryption methods or lack encryption for sensitive data. Lack of visibility can also lead to risks.
In a complex digital supply chain, it can be challenging to trace the flow of information, making it difficult to identify the source of an issue if a vulnerability is detected. To address these weaknesses, organizations must invest in robust cybersecurity measures, stay informed about the evolving threat landscape, and proactively adapt security strategies to mitigate digital supply chain vulnerabilities.
Understanding Your Risk
The initial step in defending against a digital supply chain attack involves creating a comprehensive inventory of all digital assets within the supply chain, including software, hardware, networks and sensitive data. Once this inventory is established, a thorough risk assessment is conducted for each asset. This assessment evaluates potential vulnerabilities, entry points for cyber threats and the criticality of each asset to the organization’s operations.
By understanding the digital landscape through this inventory and risk assessment process, organizations can identify weak points, detect potential threats earlier, and effectively mitigate risks, forming a strong foundation for a robust defense against digital supply chain attacks.
The business can then conduct supply chain discovery, at enterprise scale. This refers to the exhaustive mapping and analysis of all entities, both internal and external, involved in the supply chain.
This step aims to identify every vendor, subcontractor, partner and system connected to the organization’s digital infrastructure. By understanding the entire scope of the supply chain ecosystem, businesses can assess potential risks associated with each entity.
This comprehensive discovery process provides crucial insights into dependencies, vulnerabilities and potential points of entry for cyber threats. It allows organizations to formulate robust defense strategies, ensuring that every link in the digital supply chain is secure, resilient and in compliance with cybersecurity standards, thereby enhancing the overall security posture of the entire supply chain network.
With this insight, organizations can derive clear steps to remediate vulnerabilities and eliminate risks. Information is valuable only if it informs action. In the case of supply chain vulnerabilities, a set of standard operating procedures must be developed to address issues, and these procedures should be backed by a flexible, policy-based alerting and notification system.
An in-depth understanding of digital supply chain risks allows organizations to proactively manage and mitigate potential threats. By identifying vulnerabilities, businesses can implement robust cybersecurity measures, develop comprehensive incident response plans and establish resilient supply chain practices.
This proactive approach enables companies to respond swiftly to emerging threats, reducing the likelihood of successful cyber-attacks and minimizing the impact of disruptions.
Additionally, awareness of digital supply chain risks fosters a culture of understanding within the organization. Employees become educated about cybersecurity best practices, ensuring that the entire workforce is vigilant against cyber threats.
Ultimately, a well-informed approach to digital supply chain risks not only protects an organization’s bottom line but also strengthens its ability to adapt to evolving cybersecurity challenges, promoting long-term sustainability and growth.
Marc Gaffan, IONIX's CEO, is a successful business leader and entrepreneur. With a focus on building and scaling companies, Marc has led startups to become industry leaders with thousands of worldwide customers. Marc has over 20 years of cybersecurity experience, most notably founding Incapsula and bringing it to $100M ARR and its acquisition by Imperva.
