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Software Supply Chain Attacks: How Can Code Signing Help?

Software supply chain attacks, such as the recent one involving MOVEit Transfer, are a serious issue for modern enterprises. Their dependency on third-party software makes it difficult to successfully vet the security integrity of every product used by enterprises. Software is especially difficult to assess securely, as it can be modified through updates throughout its lifecycle. For threat actors, targeting popular enterprise software tools is a lucrative and time-efficient way to gain access to the systems of a large number of corporate users.

Verifying the integrity of software, and using attestation services, is one way to minimize the threat surface. So how can these concepts be leveraged in software? Software integrity (also known as code integrity) refers to the quality of the source code and allows the determination of the safety, security, and reliability of the software. It can mean that the code is unaltered by unauthorized parties, or it can also provide protection against hacks and guarantee privacy. Integrity checking can be relatively complex, but includes, at a minimum (from a security perspective), security features and ensures that security vulnerabilities have been eliminated. It does what it should, can be tested, and is easy to understand and edit, without introducing new errors or flaws. There are code analysis tools that can enable this.

Beyond that, the code can be signed through the application of a digital signature to seal that integrity check. This can happen several times during the lifetime of that software: at production, for upgrades and patching, etc. This provides assurance that the software came from the developer and that it has not been changed in an unauthorized manner. This proof of authenticity becomes important in supply chain scenarios, and can be an important tool for brand protection of the developers.

Code signing makes use of digital certificates; the signature is cryptographically hashed and packaged in a certificate. This certificate can then be verified by the user of the software through a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), with a certificate authority validating (or refuting) the applied signature. There are various types of code signing certificates: standard and extended. The latter involves a more complex process and stricter requirements for validation and key management.

Software attestation is essentially the other side of that process. It’s a trust mechanism that allows the user to independently validate the integrity asserted by a provider. Attestation might require not just the vendors name, version of the software, and origins of the code, but also other software artifacts, such as statements to the effect that they have followed secure development practices, information on external dependencies used to build it, the build process itself, the test suites that were run, and any security checks passed. Together, these artifacts form the metadata of the software, which then can be independently signed. A PKI can then be leveraged to verify the applied digital signature.

There are software attestation standards that can be leveraged, including open ones (in-tot and Binary Authorization being two popular ones). The U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is working on a self-attestation form (Secure Software Development Attestation Common Form) for software producers serving the federal government. The form will require them to confirm implementation of specific security practices. This was following the White House’s 2021 Executive Order 14028 and the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) M-22-18, “Enhancing the Security of the Software Supply Chain through Secure Software Development Practices.”

Digital signatures for code integrity and software attestation will increasingly be in demand, especially as governments on both sides of the Atlantic (in the European Union and the United States) are pushing for policy and regulation on mandatory Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs). The goal is to make software developers and device manufacturers accountable for the components that make up their products.

An SBOM will have to list known vulnerabilities associated with each component (open source and third party), pushing security rights to the forefront of product development. This visibility will allow for product development teams, DevOps, and implementers to address vulnerabilities and thereby strengthen security. SBOMs will likely form part of the software’s metadata, so signing will have a role to play here.

In short, code signing and software attestation can both confer a level of security that can minimize the threat of a supply chain attack. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that they won’t address all issues, and will not be 100% fool-proof either. Of course, threat actors know this, and many are already targeting the code signing process in order to inject malicious code. This requires threat actors to compromise development platforms where code signing takes place.

Ultimately, the use of digital signatures, from creation to management, is another aspect that will need to be secured from a developer perspective. DevSecOps will also have an important role to play here in order to avoid such malicious tactics, thereby providing a holistic security context for using digital signatures. But there is no doubt that digital signatures are a key technology for code integrity and software attestation, and will have a positive impact on thwarting the progress of supply chain attacks, if used widely.

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SignalSEC Ltd. is a research company that provides information security services.The main mission of SignalSEC is providing effective vulnerability intelligence services to the customers.

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Cloud Security

Tigera Boosts Calico for Enhanced Security & Performance

Tigera | November 07, 2023

Tigera, a provider of an active security platform for containers and Kubernetes, has announced significant upgrades to its Calico Open Source and Calico Cloud. These improvements focus on enhancing the security, scalability, and performance of Kubernetes deployments for enterprises, providing a comprehensive solution for containerized environments. Given the increased utilization of Windows containers in production, Tigera has introduced the Calico Open Source Windows HostProcess Container feature. It streamlines node pool deployment, eliminating the need for manual node initialization and enhancing Kubernetes administrators' ability to manage Windows container-based applications efficiently. Calico Cloud now introduces a Security Score and Recommended Actions feature, addressing the paramount importance of security in Kubernetes clusters. This feature offers administrators an at-a-glance view of their organization's security posture by monitoring historical trends and risks by namespace. Moreover, it provides actionable recommendations tailored to each workload, fortifying the security of individual workloads and the entire cluster. It supports IPv6 for the eBPF dataplane, meeting the demands of enterprise-class applications by providing scalable, high-performance networking. This innovation ensures optimal performance for latency-sensitive applications and addresses IP shortages. Multi-cluster Kubernetes deployments over VxLAN are on the rise, requiring enhanced application layer observability and security. Calico introduces Kubernetes Cluster Mesh for VxLAN, offering a scalable solution for workload communication and security policy enforcement across Kubernetes clusters. This simplifies complex multi-cluster environments and ensures enterprise infrastructure can run efficiently, securely, and compliantly. These Calico enhancements redefine container networking and security, enabling enterprises to secure, scale, and optimize their Kubernetes clusters with unparalleled confidence. Tigera's Chief Product Officer, Amit Gupta, emphasized the importance of these updates, stating that Calico provides the industry's most complete solution for securing and observing Kubernetes environments. About Tigera Tigera provides the industry's sole active security platform, complemented by comprehensive observability capabilities tailored for containers and Kubernetes. The company's platform operates on a multifaceted front, effectively thwarting, identifying, troubleshooting, and autonomously mitigating potential security breach risks. It offers its platform through two distinct avenues: a fully managed SaaS solution, Calico Cloud, or a self-managed service, Calico Enterprise. Its open-source offering, Calico Open Source, is the most widely adopted solution for container networking and security, shaping the landscape of secure container environments.

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Network Threat Detection

Fortinet Expands Its Global SASE Points-of-Presence with Google Cloud

GlobeNewswire | October 18, 2023

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced the expansion of its SASE Points-of-Presence (POPs) to new locations through a partnership with Google Cloud. The partnership allows Fortinet to leverage Google Cloud’s global network edge locations closest to their regions of presence, which deliver dedicated interconnect and 99.99% service availability, to accelerate the expansion of Fortinet’s Universal SASE solution. Single-vendor SASE is a critical architecture organizations adopt to connect their hybrid workforces securely. A robust network of SASE POPs that are scalable and globally available is crucial to delivering a superior user experience while enabling a strong security posture. By leveraging Google Cloud, Fortinet Universal SASE is even better positioned to serve a more extensive global footprint, ensuring that customers can seamlessly connect and secure their hybrid workforces to critical applications, said Michael Xie, Founder, President, and Chief Technology Officer of Fortinet. This partnership will expand our global POP resources and accelerate customer adoption of Fortinet’s Universal SASE solution. And because our SD-WAN solution is natively integrated with our SASE offering, Fortinet’s global SD-WAN customers now have an even broader ability to easily adopt integrated cloud-delivered security to implement a comprehensive Universal SASE solution. “Organizations worldwide rely on the Google Cloud for critical networking and access,” said Muninder Sambi, Vice President and GM of Networking at Google Cloud. “Our expanded partnership with Fortinet can enable high uptime for customers looking to support their hybrid workforces with Fortinet’s SASE solution, along with the advantages of using Google Cloud’s Cross-Cloud Network, which include lower costs and improved application experiences.” Converging Networking and Security with Fortinet Universal SASE Fortinet’s Universal SASE solution uniquely converges networking and security to support today’s hybrid workforce, expanding network edges and new microbranches to enable secure access to applications while providing high ROI through consolidation and improved digital user experience. Fortinet’s solution includes an extended portfolio of critical technologies and services that enable organizations to adopt a zero-trust security posture by effectively applying and monitoring context-based policies regardless of the resource a user is accessing. Fortinet Universal SASE offers a high-performance and scalable cloud network with best-in-class AI-powered security, unified management, and end-to-end digital experience monitoring to ensure secure access to web, corporate, and SaaS applications. Fortinet is the pioneer and leader of secure SD-WAN, the foundation of its Universal SASE solution. Universal SASE uses the same FortiOS operating system and AI-powered security services as its secure SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security service edge (SSE) solutions. This unique integrated approach extends secure web gateway (SWG), zero-trust network access (ZTNA), cloud access security broker (CASB), and Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS) solutions to its Universal SASE solution, enabling seamless connectivity, consistent end-to-end threat protection, and optimal user experience.

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