Supply chain attacks surged in 2024, with a year-on-year increase in weekly cyber-attack of 179%.

According to CheckPoint’s 2025 report, supply chain attacks surged in 2024, with a year-on-year increase in weekly cyber-attack of 179%.

“Cyber risk has become an undeniable reality for businesses of all sizes, yet our findings highlight a concerning gap in understanding and preparedness, particularly in how leaders assess and manage these risks as financial risks,” Resilience CEO Vishaal 'V8' Hariprasad said.

Read the article here: 47% of firms suffered from vendor and supply-chain attacks in 2024

This stark reality highlights a pressing need for end-to-end visibility in managing cybersecurity risks. Companies need to ensure their vendors, and their vendors’ vendors, are not the weakest links. But how can organizations get ahead of these threats and secure their operations? The answer lies in integrating advanced cybersecurity tools with comprehensive supply chain mapping.

One recent example that underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity across the supply chain is the CrowdStrike outage. In 2023, the cybersecurity company itself became a victim of an attack that disrupted its services. This incident was not just a wake-up call for CrowdStrike but also for every company relying on its services, highlighting the vulnerabilities in third-party vendor relationships. The breach showed how interconnected supply chains are, and how an attack on one company can ripple through to its clients and even clients further down the supply chain. This kind of disruption underscores the urgent need for businesses to take proactive measures in understanding and managing their supply chain risks, including the cybersecurity posture of their third, fourth, and even fifth-party vendors.

The Expanding Cybersecurity Risk in the Supply Chain

Cybersecurity risks in supply chains are often underestimated, especially when it comes to indirect vendors or sub-suppliers. Here’s why that’s a growing problem:

1. Third-Party Vendor Risks: A breach at a critical third-party vendor can serve as an entry point for cybercriminals to infiltrate your internal systems. These suppliers may have privileged access to your data, infrastructure, or applications, making them high-value targets for cyberattacks. While traditional cybersecurity tools focus primarily on protecting internal systems, many organizations still overlook vulnerabilities in their third-party networks.
2. 4th and 5th Party Risks: The risks only grow when we expand our focus to 4th and 5th parties—the suppliers of your suppliers. These vendors may have less stringent cybersecurity controls and may not even be on your radar. As a result, a compromise in the supply chain can cascade through the network, making it difficult to trace the origin of an attack and contain the damage.
3. Interdependencies and Hidden Vulnerabilities: In a modern supply chain, dependencies between suppliers create complex interconnections that are difficult to map without advanced tools. A seemingly minor cybersecurity breach in one vendor could snowball into a major risk across multiple partners, affecting several industries or critical services.

Why End-to-End Supply Chain Mapping is Critical for Cybersecurity

To fully mitigate the risks associated with supply chain cybersecurity, organizations need to implement a strategy that provides visibility across all tiers—3rd, 4th, and 5th parties. End-to-end supply chain mapping is the solution that offers comprehensive insights into these extended networks.

Visibility and Proactive Risk Management: With a complete map of your supply chain, you gain real-time visibility into your direct and indirect suppliers. This visibility makes it easier to identify potential vulnerabilities in your supply chain, from third parties down to the furthest tier. For example, if a critical supplier has poor cybersecurity practices, this can be flagged immediately, enabling you to take corrective action before an incident occurs.

Dynamic, Real-Time Risk Assessment: Traditional cybersecurity tools often rely on fixed risk assessments that become outdated as your supply chain evolves. However, supply chains are dynamic, with new suppliers constantly being onboarded and old ones transitioning out. End-to-end mapping allows for continuous updates, meaning that any new risks introduced by changes in the supply chain are immediately recognized. This real-time risk management ensures that your defenses are always aligned with the current state of your supply chain.

Incident Response and Recovery: In the event of a cyber incident, having a clear and up-to-date supply chain map can help organizations quickly assess the scope of the breach. This accelerates response times by identifying which suppliers are impacted and allows you to prioritize mitigation efforts where necessary. With end-to-end mapping, the interconnectedness of your supply chain is clear, and steps can be taken to prevent further escalation.

How Cybersecurity Tools Enhance End-to-End Supply Chain Mapping

Many cybersecurity tools are already helping businesses protect their internal systems and networks, but their full potential can be unlocked when integrated with supply chain mapping solutions. By combining cybersecurity tools with end-to-end supply chain visibility, organizations can ensure a comprehensive approach to managing cyber risk.

Here are some leading cybersecurity tools and how they can complement supply chain mapping:

1. ServiceNow: ServiceNow ServiceNow’s Security Operations and IT Service Management platforms enable real-time incident response and risk management. By integrating ServiceNow with supply chain mapping platforms, businesses can track vulnerabilities across suppliers and take swift action when a cyber threat emerges. This integration creates a seamless flow of information, allowing security teams to respond more effectively to incidents.
2. Fusion Risk Management: Fusion Risk Management Fusion’s operational risk management platform helps organizations assess and mitigate risks across their entire ecosystem. When integrated with end-to-end supply chain mapping, Fusion allows organizations to assess the cybersecurity posture of each supplier in real time. This integration ensures that cybersecurity risk is continuously monitored across the entire supply chain, allowing businesses to anticipate and address potential threats before they materialize.
3. Archer (RSA): RSA Archer provides a robust framework for governance, risk, and compliance (GRC). When connected to a supply chain mapping tool, RSA Archer allows organizations to monitor the cybersecurity compliance of suppliers and vendors across all tiers. This ensures that the security standards of each vendor align with the organization’s overall cybersecurity policies, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities spreading through the supply chain.
4. Darktrace, CrowdStrike, and FireEye: Darktrace FireEye, Inc. CrowdStrike These cybersecurity tools provide advanced threat detection and monitoring through AI and machine learning. By incorporating these tools with supply chain mapping, businesses can gain real-time visibility into the security status of each supplier, monitor for emerging threats, and quickly respond to any vulnerabilities. This integration provides a dynamic and automated approach to cybersecurity, strengthening supply chain resilience against evolving threats.

Collaborating with Suppliers to Strengthen Cybersecurity

A critical part of securing the supply chain is ensuring that suppliers understand their role in maintaining cybersecurity. By integrating cybersecurity tools into an end-to-end mapping framework, organizations can ensure that their entire supply chain—no matter how complex or far-reaching—is continuously monitored and protected.

Through collaboration and transparency, businesses can work with their suppliers to improve cybersecurity practices across the board. Suppliers can access information about their cybersecurity performance, receive alerts about potential risks, and take action to improve their security measures. This collaborative approach ensures that the entire supply chain is as resilient as possible.

Conclusion

In an era of rapidly evolving cyber threats, traditional cybersecurity measures are no longer enough to protect businesses from the risks inherent in extended supply chains. End-to-end supply chain mapping provides the visibility and control needed to proactively manage these risks, while integrating with existing cybersecurity tools creates a more robust defense against potential breaches.

By implementing a comprehensive, integrated approach to supply chain cybersecurity, businesses can not only reduce their exposure to threats but also create a more resilient, future-proof organization. The combination of advanced cybersecurity tools and real-time supply chain mapping offers the agility needed to detect and respond to threats before they impact the business, ensuring smooth and secure operations at every level of the supply chain.

Call to Action

Are you ready to future-proof your organization against supply chain cybersecurity risks? Connect with TechPassport and discuss how integrated supply chain mapping and cybersecurity tools can protect your organization from the next wave of threats.