Name: Thwarted supply-chain hack sets off alarm bells across Washington DC
Uploaded: 2024-04-02T15:18:42+00:00
Duration: 1 min 59 s
Description: A recent attempt to compromise a widely used open-source software utility has sparked concerns about the vulnerability of the open-source supply chain and the potential involvement of foreign nation-s

2 months ago

News

A recent attempt to compromise a widely used open-source software utility has sparked concerns about the vulnerability of the open-source supply chain and the potential involvement of foreign nation-states in covert espionage.

Microsoft software engineer Andres Freund discovered malicious code hidden within two versions of a popular open-source data compression tool, Xz, which had been integrated into the Linux operating system.

This discovery prompted rapid responses from security professionals and government agencies, including guidance from the U.S. government’s lead civilian cybersecurity agency, CISA, to mitigate potential cyber threats.

The attacker, known as GitHub user Jia Tan, built credibility within the developer community over two years before exploiting trust to take control of Xz.

This form of human-enabled digital espionage within open-source software is unprecedented, raising concerns among cybersecurity experts, Politico has reported.