Our current civilization is largely built on logistics and sprawling supply chains that involve hundreds of links at a time. However, it’s exactly that which makes them vulnerable to cyberattacks, causing major disruptions. Implementing adequate cybersecurity for a relatively self-contained organization is one thing; achieving this feat for a company that operates at some point down a massive supply chain is quite another. In this article, we’ll look at the current state of supply chain cybersecurity, typical attacks, vulnerabilities, and how to protect your business.
Why supply chain cybersecurity is a big deal
In the past, many would consider cybersecurity to be an exclusively IT-containable concern – but that changed quickly as two things happened: more sensitive data was entering the infrastructure, and more interconnections between systems were established. A modern supply chain will unite numerous parties, so a single breach can affect everything business-wise.
IBM Security estimated that the average cost of a single data breach in the logistics and transportation sector is around $4.18 million. At the same time, when third parties are involved, breaches are around 12.5% more expensive due to the snowballing effect on warehousing, deliveries, procurement, etc. That’s what happened in 2021 with the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline – an incident that occurred in one segment (fuel delivery) led to panic buying and economic fallout.
Another factor at play is that a typical supply chain today will also rely on dozens of software vendors, 3PLs and automation tools, and it’s easy to overlook vulnerabilities, like insecure APIs, infrequent patching or weak authentication. This creates what cybersecurity professionals refer to as “attack surface sprawl.”
In the meantime, governments are catching up with regulations. In the U.S., the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) now includes supply chains as part of its critical infrastructure protection efforts. In the EU, the NIS2 Directive and Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) require stricter oversight of ICT supply chain risks.
Needless to say, non-compliance can hurt. For example, under GDPR, a supply chain breach that exposes personal data can trigger penalties of up to €20 million or 4% of annual global revenue, whichever is higher.
Have attacks on supply chain and logistics become more difficult to manage recently?
In short, yes – which is unsurprising. Even in nature, the more complex an organism is, the more diverse kinds of disease it becomes potentially susceptible to. In a way, that’s what happened to logistics and supply chain systems over the past several years. Today’s attackers aim not just at the end target but have a large choice of third-party vendors to compromise.
Many like to talk about the SolarWinds breach of 2020, and it’s a good example. Hackers inserted malicious code into a routine software update, which was then distributed to over 18,000 organizations. Since the update was digitally signed and came from a trusted vendor, it just went unnoticed for months.
These attacks are also harder to detect and contain. IBM calculated that supply chain-related breaches take an average of 297 days to identify and remediate — nearly a quarter longer than direct attacks.
Other examples, like the Kaseya ransomware attack (2021), demonstrate how one compromised service provider can affect thousands of downstream businesses, many of which may have no direct link to the original attacker.
There are also the “successors” of 2017’s NotPetya – i.e. types of self-propagating malware that can move laterally through cloud platforms, IoT systems or shared APIs.
Common types of attacks on supply chain
So any link in the digital infrastructure along the supply chain can be a target – but what’s important to remember is that today, most types of attacks exploit what’s in between the links: trust. Hence the nomenclature of the common types of breaches; let’s look at some of them in more detail.
Third-party software compromise (trojanized updates)
That’s when malicious code is injected into legitimate software products during development (or build). The SolarWinds Orion attack is the prime example: attackers breached the company’s CI/CD pipeline, embedding a backdoor called SUNBURST into a software update. Once deployed in client environments, SUNBURST communicated with command-and-control (C2) servers using domain generation algorithms (DGAs) to avoid detection. The attack was stealthy, persistent, and used signed binaries, making it nearly invisible to traditional antivirus tools.
Ransomware via Managed Service Providers (MSPs)
MSPs often have privileged access across multiple client environments for remote monitoring and patching. This means that without proper network segmentation and PAM, hackers can zero-day-exploit, like in the Kaseya attack. REvil ransomware actors exploited a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2021-30116) in Kaseya’s on-premises VSA product. Once in, the attackers leveraged VSA’s agent scripts to push ransomware directly to endpoints. The scale and automation made this attack devastating.
Credential theft / privilege escalation
Another point of breach is by stealing login credentials, especially in case of weak or reused passwords, exposed keys or tokens, or MFA gaps. Methods involve phishing, keylogging malware, or data breaches; once inside, attackers can escalate privileges with techniques like pass-the-hash, token impersonation, or exploiting misconfigured IAM policies. According to the 2024 Verizon DBIR, 62% of supply chain attacks involved stolen or abused credentials, often with minimal alerting.
API and inter-system exploitation (MitM, injection)
Insecure API endpoints and outdated TLS also present an opportunity for things like Man-in-the-Middle attacks during transit (especially if certificates are improperly configured). A well-known example is exploitation of unprotected RESTful APIs to alter shipment data or exfiltrate inventory details. Defense mechanisms include API gateways, OAuth 2.0, and anomaly detection on the traffic through API.
Firmware and hardware tampering
Although more exotic, hardware-level attacks are deeply dangerous. In some cases, firmware backdoors can be installed during manufacturing or logistics handling. Malicious firmware can then grant rootkit-level persistence that survives reinstallation and standard security scans.
Phishing and social engineering at the vendor level
Perhaps the least tech-y type of attack, commonly targeting smaller suppliers. Once compromised, their accounts or infrastructure may be used to deliver malware-laced PDFs or links under the guise of trusted vendor communication. The typical tactic is vendor email compromise (VEC), where threat actors issue fraudulent invoices or initiate malicious file-sharing via trusted channels.
Typical vulnerabilities
Based on the dominant types of attacks, it’s easier to see the underlying weaknesses and vulnerabilities along the supply chain. Here are some of the most common ones, and their technical underpinnings:
- Lack of visibility into 3rd party risks. When an organization juggles dozens or hundreds of vendors, it is not always easy to assess their cybersecurity posture. For example, IT teams can’t see when a vendor’s credentials are leaked. As a remedy, TPRM platforms are a good option, as well as continuous attack surface monitoring.
- Unsecured CI/CD pipelines. It’s largely a byproduct of modern DevOps that comes alongside automated software builds, testing and deployment – misconfigured tools like Jenkins or Azure pose their own risks: hardcoded credentials in pipeline scripts, API keys stored in code repos, and the like.
- Outdated or unverified open source dependencies. While using open-source libraries and packages is arguably one of the best things that ever happened to software development, attackers can abuse this by publishing malicious versions of legitimate packages. This is known as typosquatting, or dependency confusion. Astoundingly, as late as 2021, a researcher could use this to infiltrate over 35 tech companies.
- Poor IAM (Identity and access management). Overly permissive IAM roles like *:* permissions, as well as lacking MFA on privileged accounts allows attackers to move laterally or exfiltrate data without tripping traditional perimeter-based defenses.
- Insecure APIs and integration points. Possible flaws are numerous here, from broken authentication to inadequate rate limiting (which practically invites brute-force attacks), and so on.
There are also other vulnerabilities, like non-segmented networks without VLANs, or weak endpoint protections (no EDR, sandboxing, or behavioral detection). However, all this diversity doesn’t mean attackers will only try to target what’s weak in the infrastructure – this means they will likely succeed where it’s weak. As tedious as it seems, proper cybersecurity measures will try and cover every possible Achilles’ heel there is.
How to strengthen security
The reality is, there is no single “magical” exclusively tech-based panacea for every possible threat. Rather, there needs to be a balanced and customized approach that starts with operational best practices and incorporates advanced tech controls. Here are some key steps to build this sort of solution:
#1 Implement a supply chain risk management framework
Operational resilience begins with a structured approach, with standards like
- NIST Cyber Supply Chain Risk Management (C-SCRM): Offers a comprehensive framework for identifying, assessing, and managing supply chain risks.
- ISO/IEC 28000: Focuses on the security management systems for the supply chain, integrating physical and cyber risk components.
In practice, this means the organization should inventory all third-party relationships, categorize suppliers per criticality and data access, and build a framework for security audits.
#2 Harden the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
When developing custom software, securing the software pipeline reduces risks of code injection and dependency manipulation. Best practices include secure coding standards like OWASP, signing releases digitally (so signatures can be verified in downstream deployments), as well as static and dynamic analyses.
#3 Enforce strict access controls
The keyword is “least privilege” – in this way, the blast radius in case of breaches is limited. This means role-based or attribute-based access control, multi-factor authentication (especially for third parties), and privileged access tools.
#4 Enhance API and integration security
Use API gateways (e.g. Kong or Apigee), token-based authentication, and automate testing for things like injection, data exposure, and misconfiguration.
#5 Invest in threat detection and response
Even with strong preventive controls, detection and rapid response are vital. Tactical measures here can include endpoint detection and response (EDR) on both internal and third-party machines, SIEM systems, and XDR platforms that correlate data across endpoints, cloud, and network.
#6 Adopt Zero Trust Architecture
It’s not trust per se that is the problem, it’s implicit trust. Breach, meanwhile, should be assumed as a default state. In practice, this means always authenticating and authorizing every access request, limiting access to the least privilege, and implementing microsegmentation.
Conclusions
As custom software developers for logistics-driven businesses, we know how critical it is to build security into every layer of your digital infrastructure — from your CI/CD pipelines to third-party API integrations. Our team doesn’t just write code — we build solutions that are secure by design.
Whether you need to modernize legacy systems, integrate new platforms securely, or ensure regulatory compliance (like NIS2, DORA, or CISA guidance), we’re here to help you navigate the complexity with tailored development and cybersecurity expertise.
