Imagine that instead of breaking into your home, a burglar manages to plant a fake key in every lock leaving a certain factory. Everyone who bought such a lock is exposed without making any mistake. That, roughly, is a software supply chain attack: instead of attacking an organization directly, attackers compromise a component, tool or update many organizations use, reaching them all at once.
Why is it possible? Because modern software is almost never written from scratch. A typical app is built from hundreds or even thousands of existing components: open-source libraries, packages downloaded from public repositories, build and distribution tools. Each is a link in the chain. If an attacker manages to inject malicious code into one link, such as a popular package or a vendor's update server, the code reaches everyone who uses it.
Methods vary. Sometimes attackers take over the account of a developer who maintains a popular library and upload an 'updated' version containing malicious code. Sometimes they upload a package with a name very similar to a well-known one, hoping someone mistypes. And sometimes they breach a software company and insert code into an official update, so customers install the breach themselves. In such cases even a very careful organization can be hit.
AI makes the problem worse in two ways. First, AI agents now write much of the code and sometimes add components and dependencies without a person checking each one. Second, they themselves have become part of the chain: AI models downloaded and built into products are another component that must be verified as unaltered. That is exactly why companies like JFrog, which manage and secure the 'parts' software is built from, are growing fast.
What can organizations do? Know exactly which components their software is built from, a list the industry calls an SBOM. Download components only from verified sources and check them before use. Update components when flaws are found, but also check the updates themselves. And limit each component's permissions so that if one is compromised, the damage is contained. For individual users the advice is simpler: download software and apps only from official stores and vendor sites, and install updates on time.
