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Your business is a link in one or more supply chains. Your business depends on those who supply to you, and in turn those you supply to (and their customers and their customers’ customers) depend on you. Any disruption at any point affects the flow of goods, services, and information affecting others in the supply chain. It’s important that we understand the risk in our supply chain and the potential risk we pose to our customers, especially cyber-related risk.  Why?  Our adversaries certainly do and are continuously looking for vulnerabilities to exploit.. With supply chain attacks increasing by 78% in recent years, organizations from all sectors can’t afford to ignore the cybersecurity threats lurking within their networks.

NeoSystems and Exiger recently hosted an essential webinar, “All Together Now: Exploiting the Supply Chain,” as part of their “CMMC: Why Do We Do It” series. This insightful event pulled back the curtain on the increasing cyber risks challenging the supply chain to the DoD, offering concrete strategies to protect organizations and safeguard operations.

If you missed joining us live, here’s a breakdown of the key takeaways and lessons shared by experts during this session. Plus, you’ll find details on how to watch the webinar on demand and access valuable resources to strengthen your cybersecurity posture.

Understanding the Modern Supply Chain and Its Risks

The webinar defined what a supply chain is and emphasized that a supply chain is multi-tiered. A prime contractor has subcontractors. Those subcontractors in turn have subcontractors and suppliers. And those subcontractors and suppliers have their own subcontractors and suppliers. A failure or an incident at any point in the chain can affect the prime contractor’s ability to deliver to the DoD.

The webinar also pointed out that risk not only resides in commercial supply chains, but also in the supply chains of the technology we use, both hardware and software, to run our businesses. The software supply chain and electronics supply chain are equally important, are complex and multi-layered.  Any disruption within these supply chains not only affects goods and services, but also the sensitive data flowing between organizations.

Multi-Dimensional Risks

Our speakers highlighted how supply chain risks encompass more than just cybersecurity. Key risk areas include:

• Cybersecurity Risks: Exploitable digital vulnerabilities in the systems that handle a supply chain, from product designs to communication software.
• Operational Risks: Issues like delays or quality problems at key suppliers.

• Financial Risks: Suppliers’ financial instability potentially affecting their services.

• Geopolitical Risks: International suppliers impacted by shifting geopolitical climates (i.e., trade restrictions or conflicts).

• Environmental Risks: Natural disasters or climate-related events disrupting supply chains.

Each of these dimensions can independently or collectively impact the flow of information, goods, and services, disrupting operations at a scale far beyond one organization.

Examples of Cyber Vulnerabilities

The webinar explored recent high-profile breaches associated with SolarWinds and Log4j vulnerability. Both incidents demonstrated just how devastating software supply chain attacks can be. These real-world examples illustrate that even a single small vulnerability deep in the supply chain can result in massive consequences and create a ripple effect.

The cyber-attack on Visser Precision, a smaller supplier with under 50 employees, demonstrates the importance of understanding risk for every supplier in the supply chain. This attack exposed sensitive design schematics from its high-profile clients such as Lockheed Martin, and also disrupted production at larger defense contractors such as Northrup Grumman. It’s a prime example that even small businesses within a supply chain are not immune to targeted attacks, and that the consequences of a cyber attack reach far beyond a single company’s walls.

Best Practices for Mitigating Supply Chain Risks

There were some alarming statistics shared during the webinar:

• Cyber security breaches that occurred in the supply chain have negatively impacted 97% of firms in the past 12 months.
• 77% of companies lack the data and knowledge to fully understand their supply chain risks—such as 97% of companies being impacted by supply chain attacks—serve as a call to action. The experts outlined several mitigation strategies to combat these emerging threats effectively:

1. Conduct Regular Risk Assessments

Organizations must regularly evaluate the risks posed by their supply chain partners. Identifying vulnerabilities early is the first step in mitigating them. NIST 800-171 requires that organizations complete regular risk assessments. NIST 800-161, entitled Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management Practices for Systems and Organizations, provides specific practices and controls for organizations to manage cybersecurity supply chain risk.

2. Enhance Cybersecurity Measures

Implementing robust cybersecurity protocols is essential. This includes:

• • Vetting IT systems for vulnerabilities.

• • Ensuring regular patching schedules for software.

• • Educating employees on cyber hygiene practices.

3. Leverage Advanced Visibility Tools

Technologies like Exiger’s Supply Chain Explorer and Ion Channel Software Risk Management solutions provide end-to-end visibility across supply chain tiers. They enable businesses to detect inefficiencies and threats before they become major disruptions.

4. Diversify and Increase Resilience

Relying too heavily on a single supplier or vendor can amplify risks. Diversifying your supply chain improves resilience. Additionally, building redundancy with backup vendors can safeguard critical operations in case of a disruption.

5. Establish a Culture of Transparency

Ensuring strong communication with both upstream and downstream supply chain partners is vital. Organizations must institute policies requiring their partners to disclose vulnerabilities and align on remediation strategies when risks are identified.

6. Include Risk Management in Budgeting

Proactively incorporating security into operating costs is increasingly critical for businesses. Our panelists encouraged organizations to factor cybersecurity costs into their rate structures rather than seeing them as an optional expense.

Building a Cyber-Secure Supply Chain

The webinar speakers made one thing clear: Cybersecurity in the supply chain is a shared responsibility. Organizations must foster partnerships with suppliers centered on shared accountability for protecting sensitive data and critical systems.

Understanding frameworks such as NIST SP 800-171 is a great starting point. NIST SP 800-171 outlines 14 families of security requirements that non-federal organizations handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) must implement. These controls range from incident response protocols to rigorous access control mechanisms. To learn more about the NIST SP 800-171 guidelines, visit here.

For government contractors, compliance with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is increasingly vital to remain eligible to receive a contract award from the DoD. To accelerate CMMC compliance readiness, check out NeoSystems CMMC Managed Solutions and  Exiger’s end-to-end visibility solutions for securing supply chains.

Don’t Miss Out—Watch the Webinar On Demand

Couldn’t make it live? The full webinar “All Together Now: Exploiting the Supply Chain” is available to watch on-demand. Gain deeper insights and actionable advice from industry leaders to protect your operations and reduce vulnerabilities across all facets of your supply chain.

👉 Watch the full webinar here.

Partner with Us to Strengthen Your Supply Chain Security

NeoSystems and Exiger are committed to making supply chain security actionable and attainable for businesses of all sizes. From small businesses looking to understand their risks to large organizations navigating complex global operations, we are here to support you. Contact us to learn how we can help secure your supply chain while advancing your path to compliance.

The urgency to secure supply chains has never been greater. As cyberattacks grow in both sophistication and frequency, proactive risk management and transparency could mean the difference between continuity and chaos. Whether you’re an IT professional, cybersecurity expert, or supply chain manager, there’s no better time to examine and fortify your organization against these vulnerabilities.

Questions or ready to get started? Contact us today. Together, we can build a safer and more reliable future.