Supply Chain Security Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a software supply chain attack?

A supply chain attack targets the components, tools, or processes used to build software rather than the application itself. This includes compromising open-source packages, injecting malicious code into build pipelines, hijacking maintainer accounts, or distributing trojanized development tools — allowing attackers to affect thousands of downstream users simultaneously.

What is dependency confusion?

Dependency confusion (also called namespace confusion) exploits how package managers resolve dependencies. An attacker publishes a malicious package to a public registry with the same name as a private internal package. If the build system checks the public registry first or prefers higher version numbers, it installs the attacker's package instead of the legitimate internal one.

How do you defend against supply chain attacks?

Key defenses include maintaining a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), using lock files and dependency pinning, enabling automated dependency scanning (Dependabot, Snyk, Socket), verifying package signatures and provenance, adopting the SLSA framework for build integrity, using private registries with allow-lists, and regularly auditing your dependency tree for known vulnerabilities.