A malicious update was distributed to a common software platform and disabled services at many organizations. Which of the following best describes this type of vulnerability?

Question

Options

• ADDoS attack
• BRogue employee
• CInsider threat
• DSupply chain

• A
  3% (1)
• C
  6% (2)
• D
  90% (28)

Explanation

Supply chain (D) is correct because the attack was delivered through a trusted software update mechanism - the attacker compromised a vendor's distribution pipeline to push malicious code to downstream organizations, which is the defining characteristic of a supply chain attack. The real-world analog is the SolarWinds attack (2020), where a poisoned update reached thousands of organizations.

A (DDoS) is wrong - a Distributed Denial of Service attack floods targets with traffic to overwhelm them; it doesn't involve injecting malicious code through a software update. B (Rogue employee) is wrong - this describes an insider acting independently within a single organization, not a cross-organizational attack via a vendor. C (Insider threat) is similarly wrong - insider threats originate from within a victim organization (employees, contractors), whereas here the compromise originated externally through a third-party software provider.

Memory tip: Think of a supply chain like a grocery supply chain - if a farm (the vendor) poisons the produce before it ships, every store (organization) that stocks it is affected. The contamination happens upstream, before it reaches you.

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