Supply Chain Attacks Propel Us Into a New Era Of Malware Infections

There’s a certain level of trust that computer users and those that create and maintain the software running them foster between them. We certainly expect updates to occur to our products and security experts maintain that it’s best practice to apply those when we see the little indicator on our screens. But what happens when that trust is broken? What about when the malware is included in the software or update? These supply chain level attacks are not only difficult to anticipate, but may even be more difficult to remedy.

These types of attacks occur when hackers get into the infrastructure where the software is being developed. They then put malware at some point into the process without anyone knowing it happened. So far this year, there have been no less than five such cases that can be considered high profile. One of them was the Windows cleanup tool CCleaner. That has around 2.2 million users where were at risk of having malware just dropped onto their computers for doing something that is recommended of them; just applying an update.

Another case occurred earlier this year with low-cost mobile phones shipping from China. These Leagoo and Nomu models had malware installed on them during the manufacturing process. When users received them, they had no idea their devices were already infected right out of the box. These are potentially more dangerous as the malware may have administrator privileges making it difficult to get rid of the malware.

At other times, the attackers compromise the servers used for distribution of the software. In these cases, they simply replace legitimate files with the infected ones.

There are limited options for consumers with regard to supply chain attacks, but there are some precautions.

• First, do research on new products you plan to purchase. If there are negative comments about them, you’ll find them when performing due diligence.

• Don’t sideload applications from sources other than the official app stores. This isn’t a 100% guarantee that a product hasn’t been modified, but it’s a lot less risky.

• Install reputable anti-virus and anti-malware products on your internet-connected devices. These don’t catch everything, but they are getting better and finding anomalies and stopping them before they can do damage.

• And even though, as previously mentioned, malware could be included in an update or new version of a product, you should absolutely keep your products updated at all times.