CS Oct 2021
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supply chain threats<br />
Paul Harris, Pentest: Digital supply chains can<br />
be seen as an easy target for malicious threats.<br />
SECURITY AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN<br />
WITH SUPPLY CHAINS UNDER EXTREME PRESSURE AND SHORTAGES<br />
FORECAST, PAUL HARRIS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PENTEST LIMITED,<br />
LOOKS AT THE IMPLICATIONS OF SUCH THREATS FROM AN ECONOMIC,<br />
BUSINESS - AND SECURITY - STANDPOINT<br />
As I write this article, supply chains<br />
are hitting the headlines. Retailers<br />
are warning there could be a<br />
shortage of toys at Christmas, McDonalds<br />
ran out of milkshakes and Nando's were<br />
forced to close restaurants, because their<br />
supply chain was, and I quote, "having a<br />
bit of a 'mare". These are the more trivial<br />
headlines, but things could be serious<br />
and everyone from car manufacturers to<br />
building merchants, the NHS to food<br />
producers, are talking about supply chain<br />
issues.<br />
Whether these supply chain issues<br />
are because of Brexit, Covid, increasing<br />
demand, staffing levels or a combination<br />
of things is up for debate and it's yet<br />
to be seen whether many will play out.<br />
But, whatever the cause, or whatever the<br />
outcome, these scenarios clearly<br />
demonstrate the effects supply chain<br />
disruption can have from an economic<br />
and business standpoint, as well as on<br />
a personal level.<br />
DIGITAL SUPPLY CHAIN<br />
Physical supply chains are the focus of<br />
these headlines and the threat of empty<br />
supermarket shelves, as well as raising<br />
prices, is always going to hit the news.<br />
But, for organisations, supply chains<br />
aren't just physical, they can also be<br />
digital. Many, if not most, of today's<br />
organisations rely on digital products<br />
and software suppliers to ensure day-today<br />
operations, and if that supply chain<br />
was disrupted, for any reason, then<br />
organisations, and ultimately consumers,<br />
could see similar negative effects.<br />
An example of this occurred in June this<br />
year, when a 'bug' within the software<br />
of the content delivery provider (CDN),<br />
Fastly, was triggered by a customer. The<br />
flaw ultimately took down 85% of the<br />
company's network and caused outages<br />
for many of its well-known customers,<br />
such as BBC News, Spotify, Amazon and<br />
10<br />
computing security <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2021</strong> @<strong>CS</strong>MagAndAwards www.computingsecurity.co.uk