Supply Chain Attacks: What are they and what can your organisation do to prevent them?
What is a supply chain attack?
A supply chain encompasses the entire journey of a product or service, from its creation to its delivery, involving different stages, locations, and activities along the way.
To be secure, an organisation needs every link in their supply chain to maintain a strong cyber security posture. If a particular supplier lacks sufficient cyber security measures, this could leave them and the entire supply chain open to attack. The stronger the supply chain cyber security, the less likely you are to fall victim to malicious activity.
Read how to manage supply chain risk in our blog→How common are cyber attacks on the supply chain?
Supply chain attacks are becoming increasingly popular with cybercriminals as they recognise the potential reach of victims as a result of targeting one weak supplier. These statistics put the danger of supply chain attacks into perspective:
- Just over 1 in 10 (13%) of businesses review the risks posed by their immediate suppliers.
- Malware is the attack technique that attackers resort to in 62% of supply chain attacks.
- Gartner identified digital supply chain risk management as one of its top seven security and risk management trends in 2022.
These statistics highlight the importance of monitoring suppliers and ensuring that all immediate and wider suppliers take cybersecurity seriously. As malware is identified as the technique attackers resort to most often, organisations need to prioritise protecting themselves against malware, such as ransomware.
Supply chain attack examples and how they work
It is essential for organisations to maintain their supply chain cyber security, yet a very small percentage actually monitors their partners and vendors in real-time for cyber security risks. So, what risks do organisations face? Here are a few examples of types of supply chain attacks and how they work:
An insider is someone with legitimate access to systems and the network, and the threat arises from the possibility of the insider abusing their credentials for malicious activity. A malicious insider could use their access (particularly if it’s privileged) to access and leak sensitive data from their suppliers without raising any alarm in the process.
Phishing attacks are a common technique used in supply chain attacks as it relies on human error, which is unfortunately quite prevalent. If an end-user was to click on a malicious link or open a malicious attachment, then this could deploy malware which could be spread across the supply chain. This tactic is often used to target weaker suppliers in order to reach organisations with stronger defences.
An attacker could infiltrate a software vendor’s network and insert a hidden backdoor into a software update that would be widely used. When organisations in a supply chain install the update, the backdoor can allow the attacker to make their way into a system unauthorised and potentially compromise their data or systems.
If a cloud service provider were to be attacked, organisations that utilise the service would be vulnerable. Attacks gaining unauthorised access to the cloud service provider could provide them access to sensitive data that is stored in the cloud, putting their organisations at risk.
Which industries are most at risk from supply chain attacks?
Supply chain attacks can impact any industry. Industries, such as manufacturing, are attractive targets to cybercriminals due to the great disruption that can be caused by halting the manufacturing process.
Different industries are targeted for various reasons, e.g. the healthcare industry is often targeted as they hold a wide range of personal/sensitive data, and the retail industry can be targeted to cause disruption to workflow, reducing profits. The financial sector is also an attractive target for cybercriminals due to the potential financial rewards.
Key benefits of implementing measures to reduce supply chain attacks
Investing in measures to protect your supply chain is essential not only for your organisation but also in order to protect your suppliers.
If a supplier in your supply chain does not implement necessary cybersecurity measures to protect themselves and their suppliers, a breach could severely damage customer trust in your organisation, even though you were not directly attacked. This damage to trust and reputation emphasises why it is essential to track and monitor suppliers.
ACDS 'Email Security Essentials' as a layer of protection against supply chain attacks
As email is one of the most common attack vectors, it is essential to implement layers of protection that focus on protecting your organisation's email security. This, in turn, will reduce the likelihood of your organisation being the weak link in a supply chain attack.
At ACDS, we offer an ‘Email Security Essentials’ bundle that includes File Guard, our zero-trust software, which utilises content disarm and reconstruction technology, and Email Guard, our tool for assessing email security compliance and, at the same time, ensuring the latest standards in encryption protocols.
File Guard significantly reduces the chances of malware being present in email attachments when it reaches the end user. As malware is used in the majority of supply chain attacks, implementing zero-trust software that strips malicious code from these file attachments is an essential layer of protection to reduce the likelihood of a supply chain attack.
Email Guard ensures that an organisation’s DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) policy is successfully implemented to reduce the likelihood of spoofed emails reaching the end user’s inbox. Adopting a strong DMARC policy will increase supplier and customer trust, giving them reassurance that attackers have not impersonated your domain.
Contact us today
Not sure where to start when it comes to protecting your supply chain? Contact ACDS today, where we can provide advice on the best solutions for you.
Schedule a call →Supply chain attack FAQs
A supply chain attack occurs when attackers target a weak link in a supply chain to reach more suppliers who have stronger cybersecurity postures and are harder to break into. Once they have gained access through a weak supplier, it can provide them with easier entry to another supplier with a stronger defence, and they can steal sensitive information from suppliers that they would not be able to access otherwise.
Supply chain risks can be prevented if each link in the chain has strong cybersecurity protection. You are only as strong as your weakest supplier, so in order to prevent a supply chain attack, all suppliers need to work together by tracking and monitoring each other, ensuring they are following best practices.
All industries are vulnerable to supply chain attacks. Industries that are more likely to be vulnerable are those that have a large global network of supplies, for example, the technical and electronics industries and the healthcare sector.
A supply chain attack can impact organisations in many different ways. There can be financial loss to both the organisation and their suppliers, as well as great disruption in the flow of production due to downtime. If the attack involves a data breach, there will likely be legal consequences too.
Our team at ACDS are happy to advise on the best way to improve your supply chain security and reduce advanced cyber threats. Contact one of our team today!