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Security Intermediate

What is Supply Chain Attack?

A cyberattack that targets less-secure elements in the software supply chain to compromise downstream users and organizations.

Supply chain attacks compromise software before it reaches end users by targeting dependencies, build systems, or distribution channels. Examples include typosquatting (malicious packages with similar names on PyPI/npm), compromised maintainer accounts, backdoored updates (SolarWinds attack), and poisoned CI/CD pipelines. Defense measures include pinning dependency versions, using lock files, verifying package signatures, scanning dependencies for known vulnerabilities (npm audit, pip-audit, Snyk), using private package registries, implementing Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), and practicing least-privilege in build systems. The Log4Shell vulnerability demonstrated how a single dependency can impact millions of applications.

Related Terms

Vulnerability Scanning
Automated testing that identifies known security weaknesses in systems, applications, and network infrastructure.
CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing)
A browser security mechanism that controls which web domains can access resources from another domain via HTTP requests.
SQL Injection
An attack where malicious SQL code is inserted into application queries through user input to access or manipulate the database.
Brute Force Attack
An attack method that systematically tries all possible combinations of passwords or keys until the correct one is found.
Security Hardening
The process of reducing a system's attack surface by disabling unnecessary services, applying patches, and configuring security controls.
Encryption
The process of converting readable data into an unreadable format using algorithms, reversible only with the correct key.
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