Software supply chain attacks and responsibility - who is actually in charge?
Guest blog by Phil Skelton, International Senior Director at eSentire #techUKSupplyChainSecurityWeek
Phil Skelton
International Senior Director, eSentire
Supply chain attacks have become more popular with threat actors over the past few years. Rather than breaking into one company, a supply chain attack can provide access to many more organisations. For the same amount of effort, threat actors can increase their potential pay-out from those affected. However, supply chain attacks are still seen as hard to manage. According to the latest UK Government cyber research around data breaches, only 14 percent of companies specifically review their direct suppliers for potential security impact, and only seven percent look at their wider supply chain.
Why do attacks succeed?
Threat actors increasingly target weaker links in the supply chain, including MSPs and third parties, to gain trusted access into larger enterprises. These attacks succeed because responsibility for monitoring and response is fragmented.
This can be because the MSP does not track its own IT infrastructure as much as it does customer networks. Patching and updates can fall behind when there is pressure to deliver what clients want. Equally, they may not have the level of security in their own environment that they expect to see in their customers.
That initial access can then lead to lateral movement and privilege escalation. These steps are what allow threat actors to get access to customer environments, either through direct access to their networks or by inserting vulnerabilities into software.
Where the 'shared responsibility model' breaks down
For companies working with partners, understanding what you are responsible for and what the partner delivers should be established right from the start. Wherever you draw the line, the important element is who is responsible for the security around that layer.
However, while responsibilities may be defined contractually, in practice, there is often no clear owner of detection, investigation, and response across the supply chain. Does your service provider have its own detection and response approach in place, and will they inform you if there is a problem? What happens if this kind of issue takes place outside business hours?
The National Cyber Security Centre encourages companies to understand their suppliers and their approach to security as part of any procurement process. However, while you might have contracts signed and a shared responsibility model outlined in theory, it's only when something goes wrong that you can determine how good your suppliers really are around security. Planning ahead around detection and response is essential.
True accountability requires continuous visibility and response
In these circumstances, accountability and communication are both key to success. Is your supply chain partner really able to supply the information that you need when you need it for your own risk decisions?
To reduce risk, organisations need 24/7 visibility across their environment and third-party access points, with the ability to rapidly detect and contain threats as they emerge. This means getting visibility into two categories of supplier — companies you use for services, and software providers whose tools you consume.
For the technology side, using threat intelligence around your key suppliers can help. If you rely on a specific security supplier or networking router company, you should get real-time insight into their security over time. If they have an exploit or potential vulnerability, you can manage your own risk accordingly and lock down those devices. This also counts for software components that you build into your own digital services, where you can patch your systems as fast as required.
On the company side, a delay in their work could affect your own organisation's ability to function. For example, a ransomware attack on a software provider in London did not directly lead to software problems at NHS Trusts in the capital, but the outage led to supplies of blood running low and cancelled operations. Understanding those issues in the real world supply chain alongside your software supply chain enables you to build better resilience to potential market shocks over time.
The UK Government's Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will mean that more companies across the technology sector have to harden their operations. These requirements should improve the wider economy, reduce potential risk, and focus attention on who is responsible for what elements in your infrastructure.
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Jill Broom
Head of Cyber Resilience, techUK
Jill leads the techUK Cyber Resilience programme, having originally joined techUK in October 2020 as a Programme Manager for the Cyber and Central Government programmes. She is responsible for managing techUK's work across the cyber security ecosystem, bringing industry together with key stakeholders across the public and private sectors. Jill also provides the industry secretariat for the Cyber Growth Partnership, the industry and government conduit for supporting the growth of the sector. A key focus of her work is to strengthen the public–private partnership across cyber to support further development of UK cyber security and resilience policy.
Before joining techUK, Jill worked as a Senior Caseworker for an MP, advocating for local communities, businesses and individuals, so she is particularly committed to techUK’s vision of harnessing the power of technology to improve people’s lives. Jill is also an experienced editorial professional and has delivered copyediting and writing services for public-body and SME clients as well as publishers.
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Annie Collings
Senior Programme Manager, Cyber Resilience, techUK
Annie is the Programme Manager for Cyber Resilience at techUK. She first joined as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023.
In her role, Annie supports the Cyber Security SME Forum, engaging regularly with key government and industry stakeholders to advance the growth and development of SMEs in the cyber sector. Annie also coordinates events, engages with policy makers and represents techUK at a number of cyber security events.
Before joining techUK, Annie was an Account Manager at a specialist healthcare agency, where she provided public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. She also gained experience as an intern in both an MP’s constituency office and with the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. Annie holds a degree in International Relations from Nottingham Trent University.
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Olivia Staples
Junior Programme Manager - Cyber Resilience, techUK
Olivia Staples joined techUK in May 2025 as a Junior Programme Manager in the Cyber Resilience team.
She supports the programs mission to promote cyber resilience by engaging key commercial and government stakeholders to shape the cyber resilience policy towards increased security and industry growth. Olivia assists in member engagement, event facilitation and communications support.
Before joining techUK, Olivia gained experience in research, advocacy, and strategic communications across several international organisations. At the Munich Security Conference, she supported stakeholder engagement and contributed to strategic communications. She also worked closely with local and national government stakeholders in Spain and Italy, where she was involved in policy monitoring and advocacy for both public and private sector clients.
Olivia holds an MSc in Political Science (Comparative Politics and Conflict Studies) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from University College London (UCL).
Outside of tech, Olivia enjoys volunteering with local charities and learning Norwegian.
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Authors
Phil Skelton
International Senior Director, eSentire
