A Timeline of Software Supply Chain Attack Examples

There are several noteworthy software supply chain attack examples that we can learn from. Why is this important? Attacks on software supply chains can be incredibly harmful as they specifically target organizations through their third-party vendors or software, hardware, or service providers at any point in the development process. The intention behind these attacks is to gain entry, carry out espionage, and enable acts of sabotage.

In looking at software supply chain attack examples, these types of attacks vary in complexity, from using simple methods of deception such as disguising malware as legitimate products, to more intricate approaches that allow for the modification of a program’s source code.

Apart from exploiting the infrastructure of developers and distributors, adversaries may also attempt to take advantage of shared libraries, dependencies, tools, and third-party code.

The infamous SolarWinds attack, for instance, involved malicious code being installed via the Orion IT monitoring platform, which was a third-party software provider. Unfortunately, SolarWinds is not the only attack of its kind to have occurred in recent years. Check out our infographic, 6 Examples of Software Supply Chain Attacks, to learn the details of other similar types of exploits and how you can guard against them.