The global software supply chain is complex and full of risk. The average software package has over 40 dependencies, which can be easily forgotten or inadvertently introduced during integration. It is important to maintain visibility into these hidden dependencies by using an SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) to understand what you are installing on your systems and prevent malicious activity from taking place.
If you’ve ever taken a peek inside your computer’s software, you’ll know that there are lots of pieces. Some are obvious, like the operating system. Others may not be as visible to users but still important, like libraries and frameworks.
When it comes to software security risk management, having a complete list of all the components your organization uses is essential to understanding the full set of risks associated with each one and how they should be managed. This information can help organizations prioritize their testing and remediation activities so that they focus on known vulnerabilities in the most critical components first.
SBOM is a list of all the software on your device. This sounds self-explanatory, but it’s not quite as simple as it sounds. SBOM is not just about the software you write; it can include any third-party packages that are used by your application. These dependencies can be added to SBOM when they’re installed via an app store or even manually downloaded by you as part of an update process.
That’s right: if someone else has written code and installed it on their device, then whatever they’ve done will show up in your SBOM details. If they’ve made security-sensitive changes to those components (like modifying default settings), then those changes will be visible too!
In fact, this happens more than most people realize because developers often don’t realize there are hidden dependencies until after something bad has happened—and by then it may be too late for them to change anything about those dependencies without breaking their own apps
You should be concerned about hidden Java dependencies because they can be used to attack your network, other networks or even the cloud.
For example, in one case we investigated a malicious client-side application that was installed on users’ computers and then used to attack other systems via the internet. It did this using a hidden Java dependency that was loaded into memory when users visited particular websites.
Another example is an attack on multiple organizations where malware was spread through social engineering techniques and then used to download additional malware from servers hosted in foreign countries. The malware installed by these servers would infect machines running JVMs with hidden dependencies which would then connect back out to an IRC channel where commands were sent from infected machines back into their networks.
Due to the nature of Java applications, and the fact that it is impossible to know the state of the application in isolation, it is especially important to have a solution that provides effective SBOM at-rest and at-runtime. TrueSBOM can be easily integrated into applications to provide SBOM at-rest and at-runtime that are true and always up to date. No matter if you are a developer or using Open Source applications—you should be sure what dependencies are currently active, without the need to track every application and version independently.
Many applications have inadvertently created hidden “secret” Java packages that compile and run but never get published. They are left behind after an initial test or development phase and are rarely subject to regression testing. This can put the entire application at risk when a new version needs to be tested, or a patch needs to be applied.
In order to make sure that your company is protected from hidden dependencies, you should:
Build a more accurate SBOM and get control over your supply chain.
SBOM is a specification that can be used to implement capabilities in systems and applications. TrueSBOM enables you to verify whether your application contains sensitive data, but also to track what additional dependencies are currently active.
Java is just one example of a hidden dependency, but it’s important to know that this is not just a problem for Java developers. If you have any software in your organization that relies on Java, you need to be aware of the risks associated with hidden dependencies. You can take steps today to mitigate the impact of these vulnerabilities on your supply chain and protect yourself from security threats.
Implementing a TrueSBOM helps you to secure your systems at every level, as well as your Open Source applications. To ensure that you are always up-to-date with the latest security updates, TrueSBOM can be integrated into your applications and deployed into production within minutes.