Software supply chains have become an increasingly attractive target for cyber attackers. Rather than compromising individual organisations directly, threat actors are focusing on widely used development tools and open-source components to distribute malicious code across multiple environments simultaneously.
Recent research highlighted a campaign where attackers compromised widely used development tools including Trivy and Checkmarx integrations within CI/CD pipelines. By targeting these tools, attackers were able to insert malicious components into development environments and potentially access credentials used during software builds.
Supply chain attacks are not a new concept, but the scale of modern development ecosystems has significantly increased their potential impact. Many organisations rely on hundreds or thousands of external libraries, container images and automation tools as part of routine development processes. If one of these dependencies is compromised, the effect can cascade across multiple systems.
Why supply chain attacks are difficult to detect
Unlike traditional malware attacks, supply chain compromises often appear legitimate within the development workflow. Malicious code may be introduced through trusted repositories, automated build systems or legitimate update mechanisms.
In some cases, attackers target developer tools directly, embedding malicious code into packages or extensions used by software engineers. Security researchers have previously identified attacks involving compromised software updates and malicious open-source packages distributed through development platforms.
Because these tools operate within trusted development pipelines, malicious activity may bypass traditional security monitoring.
The operational risks for organisations
The impact of a supply chain compromise can be significant. If malicious code is introduced into an organisation’s build pipeline, it may allow attackers to:
- steal credentials used by development tools
- introduce backdoors into internally developed applications
- access sensitive repositories or source code
- distribute compromised software to downstream customers
For those that rely heavily on cloud-native development or automated pipelines, this type of attack represents a growing operational risk.
Strengthening supply chain security
Reducing supply chain risk requires visibility across development processes as well as traditional infrastructure security controls.
Organisations should ensure they maintain clear inventories of software dependencies and implement processes for validating external packages and updates. Monitoring CI/CD pipelines and restricting credential access can also help limit the impact of compromised tools.
Security testing of applications and infrastructure is also important for identifying vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to exploit compromised components once they are deployed.
Prism Infosec works with organisations to identify security weaknesses across applications, infrastructure and development environments. Through penetration testing and security assessments, organisations can gain clearer visibility into the risks introduced through modern software supply chains.
To learn more about Prism Infosec’s penetration testing services, visit:
Cyber Security Assessments and Penetration Testing Archives – Prism Infosec
