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Supply chains have been in fluctuating turmoil for multiple consecutive years, and this turbulence shows no signs of stabilizing anytime soon. A range of competing and evolving geopolitical conflicts, U.S. and foreign policies, and other global and close-to-home events fuel this instability which creates multiple threats to supply chains that ebb, and flow as new issues arise.
In, 2022, a CNBC survey of 341 logistics managers revealed that 61% of respondents described their supply chain as “not operating normally,” and 29% predicted that normalcy would not until at least 2025.
Fast-forward to today, and we’re seeing new setbacks that add to the ever-present supply chain vulnerability. In late September 2024, two new factors surfaced – the devastation of Hurricane Helene and a strike of roughly 50,000 dockworkers – which continues to threaten America’s grocery store supplies.
Understanding Supply Chain Vulnerability
While global conflicts, natural disasters, and work strikes may come and go, one supply chain risk remains ever-present, and that is supply chain cybersecurity.
Supply chain risk management and supply chain security have become top priorities for businesses across all industries. A cyberattack can have devastating results that spiderweb and perpetuate, as evidenced by recent and notable supply chain compromise attacks.
Businesses can’t guarantee that they won’t be affected by supply chain challenges, especially when factors outside their control come into play. However, when it comes to how to prevent supply chain cyberattacks on a close-to-home level, there are actionable steps that organizations can take to ensure that they are protected from this highly prevalent and impactful supply chain vulnerability.
What are the most significant supply chain challenges?
As stated, supply chains can be impacted by waves of varying factors, but a few key challenges include the following.
- Geopolitical events – Significant global events, like the Ukraine conflict or ongoing trade wars, inherently affect global supply chains, which can reach all corners of the world in various industries.
- Inflation and labor shortages – Larger and more recent economic trends, which include inflation and labor shortages, have also contributed to issues in the supply chain. For example, according to the American Trucking Association, truck driver shortages reached record highs in 2021 and 2022, and there is no immediate solution in sight.
- Material scarcity – In addition to labor, there is an ongoing shortage of raw materials. These raw materials include glass, plastics, lumber, and metals, which can impact all aspects of supply delivery, from stocking and maintaining warehouses of inventory to maintaining ports to transporting goods to different regions around the country and the world.
- Natural disasters – Like Hurricane Helene demonstrated, a natural disaster in a specific region can affect all industries and companies that have a home base or hub in the affected area.
- Cyberattacks and cybersecurity gaps – While natural disasters, government policies, labor shortages, and global conflicts are fluid events that can change or improve over time, cyberattacks are a constant risk that is only growing. When it comes to overcoming supply chain challenges, it’s also the one arena that individual organizations can be proactive about.
What is supply chain attack?
A supply chain attack is a cyberattack that targets an organization’s systems, data, or products to disrupt its operations. It also affects third-party vendors and consumers connected to the business.
Bad actors may successfully launch a cyberattack by stealing data, altering records, installing malware, or gaining remote control over key systems. The goal of a cybercriminal is to obtain a hefty ransom or simply cause massive disruption.
Notable supply chain compromise attacks
There’s a long list of supply chain attacks that have made international headlines. Here are just a few.
SolarWinds Attack
In December 2022, SolarWinds, a network management software company, was hacked. This cyberattack affected 18,000 customers and businesses due to a widespread breach of government agencies and private companies.
3CX Attack
In March 2023, a Trojan version of the popular 3CX Desktop App was distributed from the 3CX website. This cyberattack spread malware to millions of customers and affected organizations across all industries that used the popular voice and video conferencing tool.
Equifax data breach
The famous 2017 Equifax data breach was caused by a missed security patch that wasn’t applied in a timely manner. The end result left Equifax’s systems exposed for 145 days. Sensitive data was stolen from 147 million people, and supply chain issues stemmed from multiple interconnected issues. The Equifax breach is still considered one of the largest data breaches in U.S. History.
Target Security Breach
Long before cyberattacks became the sophisticated endeavors that they are today, in 2013, Target experienced a massive data breach that compromised roughly 70 million debit and credit cards, as well as the massive supply chain connected to the retail giant.
The role of Cybersecurity and colocation in supply chain resilience
Cybercriminals can access and attack an organization in any number of ways.
A cyberattack can stem from missing important software updates, not having adequate cybersecurity protections in place, having IT infrastructure stored in an unsafe or risky locale, a natural disaster that affects communications and exposes vulnerabilities, and many other factors.
Even innocent mistakes, like opening an email attachment, can result in an organization-wide cyberattack, while some factors – like an attack on a third-party vendor that spreads – can potentially be outside of an organization’s control.
But there are things you can do to achieve the best protection possible, and this is where DartPoints can guide the way.
Prevent Supply Chain Attacks with Cybersecurity from DartPoints
Ensuring supply chain cybersecurity and mitigating supply chain vulnerability is a multi-pronged effort. It can include implementing disaster recovery and backup solutions, providing an exceptional cloud service provider for all your IT infrastructure, or relying on sophisticated colocation facilities to ensure continuous security and solid communication channels, regardless of supply chain disruptions.
An organization can’t guarantee protection against all potential regional or global supply chain disruptions. However, it can ensure better supply chain risk management in the face of cyberattacks.
Reach out to the expert team at DartPoints today to launch a custom-tailored solution that will protect your organization against cyberattacks in all their evolving forms.
DartPoints works with your budget, risks, and unique operations, so you can have peace of mind that you have the best cybersecurity solutions in place when our team is constantly at your side.