Software supply chain: What it is and how to keep it secure

The software supply chain is an intricate system encompassing code, configurations, libraries, tools, and the people and processes involved in software development, presenting numerous vulnerabilities that malicious actors can exploit. These vulnerabilities arise from infrastructure misconfigurations, software and codebase weaknesses, and human and process errors, such as identity and access management breaches. To mitigate these risks, organizations are encouraged to use a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for visibility into third-party components, implement automated vulnerability scanning, establish incident response teams, and ensure robust testing and risk assessments. Integrating security measures into Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, such as those offered by CircleCI, can help automate security checks, detect vulnerabilities, and validate compliance throughout the software delivery process, thereby reducing exposure to potential attacks.