07 May Manage a supply chain? New NIST guidelines can help

NIST provides insight for business chain supply strategies

In an effort to keep IT architecture safe from attacks, the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) released new guidelines to provide a security structure roadmap. Supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks, which the NIST wants to address. If your company manages supply chain metrics within its IT framework, the guidelines can help.

The primary goal is for companies to look at the services and products used for their supply chain options and consider the cybersecurity risks involved with each layer. The NIST has a vast, comprehensive list of strategies and guidelines for organizations to consider.

Some of the takeaways from the NIST guidelines involve sweeping risk assessments, which is a core characteristic of healthy cybersecurity practices. Those assessments include:

• Third-party flaws (unsafe software architecture)
• Counterfeit hardware
• Unsafe development practices along the supply management chain, such as weak cybersecurity policies and infrastructure or deployment of vulnerable software/apps
• No backup structure

The EUAC (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) also enforced these statistics by analyzing malware metrics from 2020 to 2021.

(source: EUCA)

Over half of attacks looked at weak supply chain coding, while another majority exploited consumer trust through social engineering/phishing schemes.

Taking this info into account, managers of supply chain networks need to be increasingly aware of threats to their production model. The NIST guidelines are part of a concentrated effort to strengthen the nation’s overall cybersecurity infrastructure.

Don’t let your production chain fall behind. Get help with IT solutions and cybersecurity advice by contacting Bytagig today.