Software Supply Chain Reaction

It’s rare these days to fully know the origins of all your code. It’s perhaps so surprisingly rare that even the most discerning developers typically can’t say for certainty that they can fully track the pathway their code took to get to get to them. That translates into a need to work off of one very important assumption: your software can be vulnerable, and you have to be proactively vigilant to ensure its security.

The software supply chain is exactly that – a very long chain that can result in software companies using code from open source options and even third, fourth and fifth-party code. Along the way, what happened and who was involved? It’s because of today’s inevitable dependence on bundling existing code rather than building truly custom code that creates this now-continual need for vigilance.

The leadership at any organization, regardless of whether they are offering and distributing software solutions or just simply using third-party software, must understand that the libraries employed are very likely to come from many, or in some cases, numerous sources. In fact, a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) is discussed more and more as an appealing tool for risk software supply chain management. Whether it is an open source library or a licensed software product, it is imperative that companies at least attempt to track where those components are used to allow for fast patching in case of a discovered vulnerability or regularly scheduled security patches. But that’s much easier said than done – and that’s where that important assumption comes into the picture.

Alas, since it’s not always possible to know where all software components are sourced from, that original company offering the completed software package needs to protect it with specific threat protection tools and to be able to monitor its actual behavior. Keep in mind that cybercriminals target suppliers of widely used software as a means to infect countless organizations relying on that common software. Proactively harnessing the power of an extended threat detection solution to continually monitor and protect your application is a smart investment for greater peace of mind.

Afterall, it’s a win-win scenario for both the software developer as well as the end users. Security is at the forefront of your offering – and satisfaction and retention are ultimately higher because of it. Because you’re working from the original assumption that code, whether intentionally or not, can be exploited, you’re notably better positioned than those that leave it to chance.

Check out what the Verimatrix Extended Threat Defense (XTD) portfolio of solution can do for your software’s security posture regardless of its supply chain “exposure.” Learn how you can easily identify security blind spots, employ self-defending mobile application shielding, defend unmanaged devices, detect attack patterns, and more. And see what some of Verimatrix’s XTD customers say about the value XTD brings to their organization.