Software Supply Chain Security
Software Supply Chain Security is a cybersecurity discipline focused on protecting the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of software throughout its entire lifecycle—from development and distribution to deployment and maintenance. It addresses risks introduced by third-party components, build processes, and deployment pipelines to prevent tampering, vulnerabilities, and malicious code injection. This involves securing dependencies, verifying artifacts, and implementing controls across the software development and delivery ecosystem.
Developers should learn this to mitigate risks from attacks like SolarWinds and Log4j, which exploited supply chain weaknesses, causing widespread breaches. It's essential when using open-source libraries, CI/CD pipelines, or containerized applications to ensure code integrity and compliance with regulations like NIST SSDF or SLSA. Implementing supply chain security practices helps prevent unauthorized modifications, reduces vulnerability exposure, and builds trust in software deployments.