The increased regulatory and legal demands on software manufacturing entities to safeguard their supply chains and guarantee the credibility of their software should not be unexpected. In recent years, the software supply chain has turned into an increasingly appealing target for assailants who identify chances to significantly increase the impact of their attacks. For instance, one need only look at the Log4j breach from 2021, where Log4j (an open-source logging framework managed by Apache and utilized in a variety of applications) served as the foundation for exploits that jeopardized thousands of systems.
The vulnerability in Log4j’s communication capabilities made it possible for an attacker to insert malicious code into the logs, enabling its execution on the system. Following its detection, security analysts saw millions of attempted breaches, many resulting in successful denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. As per Gartner’s latest research, nearly half of enterprise organizations will have encountered a software supply chain breach by 2025.
So, what exactly constitutes the software supply chain? Initially, it encompasses all the code, personnel, systems, and procedures that contribute to the development and delivery of software assets, both internally and externally to an organization. The complexity and widely dispersed nature of developing contemporary applications make securing the software supply chain particularly daunting. Organizations employ international teams of developers who rely on an unprecedented number of open source dependencies, as well as an assortment of code repositories, artifact registries, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure resources utilized for constructing and deploying their applications.
Despite security and compliance always ranking as paramount concerns for enterprise entities, the task of safeguarding the software supply chains of organizations continues to grow in significance. While many organizations are advancing in operationalizing DevSecOps practices, a notable portion of them are still at early stages of determining their course of action.
That is why we have compiled this piece. Although the subsequent advice is not exhaustive, here are four core principles to kickstart your efforts in enhancing the security of your software supply chain.
Deliberate on Every Facet of your Software Supply Chain During Security Implementation
Considering that over 80% of code bases are plagued by at least one open-source vulnerability, it’s logical to concentrate on OSS dependencies when it comes to software supply chain security. Nonetheless, modern software supply chains cover other elements whose security postures are either disregarded or not comprehensively understood by the organization for effective management. These elements encompass code repositories, CI and CD pipelines, infrastructure, and artifact registries, each of which necessitates security measures and frequent compliance assessments.
Frameworks like OWASP Top-10 for CI/CD and CIS Software Supply Chain Security Benchmark. Complying with these frameworks entails detailed RBAC, adopting the principle of least privilege, screening containers and infrastructure-as-code for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, segregating builds, integrating application security testing, and appropriately managing secrets– just to name a few.
SBOMs are Crucial for Rectifying Zero-days and Other Component Flaws
As part of Executive Order 14028, issued by the White House in mid-2021 to enhance the nation’s cybersecurity posture, software producers are obligated to furnish their federal clients with a software bill of materials (SBOMs). SBOMs essentially serve as official records designed to offer transparency into all the components constituting a software piece. They deliver an exhaustive, machine-readable inventory listing all open source and third-party libraries, dependencies, and components employed in constructing the software.
Whether or not an organization is compelled by EO 14028, creating and managing SBOMs for software artifacts proves to be a judicious practice. SBOMs are a vital instrument for rectifying component flaws or zero-day vulnerabilities. By being stored in a searchable repository, SBOMs provide a roadmap outlining where a specific dependency is located, enabling security teams to swiftly trace vulnerabilities back to affected components.
Oversee the Software Development Lifecycle with Policy-as-code
In the realm of modern application development, robust constraints serve as a fundamental instrument for eliminating errors and deliberate actions that imperil security and compliance. Enforcing appropriate governance throughout the software supply chain implies that the organization has simplified the execution of correct actions while making it exceedingly troublesome to execute incorrect actions.
Although numerous platforms and tools present ready-to-implement policies, policy-as-code founded on the Open Policy Agent industry standard facilitates the authoring and enforcement of entirely customizable policies. These policies regulate everything from access privileges to authorizing or forbidding the use of OSS dependencies based on factors like supplier, version, package URL, and license.
Capable of Validating & Ensuring Trust in your Software Artifacts using SLSA
How can users and consumers ascertain the trustworthiness of a software piece? Evaluating the trustworthiness of a software artifact entails understanding details such as the individuals behind the code, the builders, and the development platform utilized. Knowing the components contained within is also vital.
For ascertaining the trustworthiness of software, the Supply Chain Levels for Software Artifacts (SLSA) framework was formulated. This framework empowers software-producing organizations to document details about any aspect of the software supply chain, verify properties of artifacts and their construction, and lessen the risk of security problems. In practice, it is indispensable for software-producing organizations to espouse and adhere to the SLSA framework prerequisites and implement a system for verifying and generating software attestations, which are authenticated statements (metadata) concerning software artifacts throughout their software supply chains.
Due to the enormity and intricacy of securing the contemporary software supply chain, the above recommendations only scratch the surface. Nonetheless, akin to all other aspects of constructing and deploying modern applications, practices are swiftly evolving. To help you commence, we suggest perusing How to Securely Deliver Software –
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