In recent years, attention to software security has grown, pushing organizations to more carefully consider the management of software security and compliance. The Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) has established itself as one of the fundamental keys to ensuring the security of the software supply chain. In this article, we will explore why adopting SBOM has become crucial for software security, examining its challenges and benefits.
What is SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)?
The acronym SBOM stands for Software Bill of Materials: a detailed inventory of the components within an application or system. In other words, it is a list of essential information about software components, such as libraries, frameworks, modules, and code templates, along with their versions, dependencies, and sources of origin.
What is SBOM used for?
As we have seen, the Software Bill of Materials provides a comprehensive overview of the resources used in the software development and production process. It includes details on software versions, licenses used, known vulnerabilities, available updates, and information about the component supply chains. The importance of this document therefore lies in the transparency and visibility it offers over the software supply chain.
With an accurate Software Bill of Materials, organizations can easily identify vulnerabilities, outdated dependencies, or components with non-compliant licenses. As a result, they can make informed decisions to manage risks and ensure the security and compliance of the software.
Imagine if a pastry chef did not know exactly which ingredients were going into their cakes. If a contaminated ingredient were used, who would be responsible? This scenario shows how important it is for a confectionery company to know exactly what goes into its products and where the ingredients come from, to protect both its customers and its own reputation.
Similarly, software producers must have thorough knowledge of the components present in their applications. SBOM acts as a detailed recipe for software, offering an essential means of managing software components that may hide security vulnerabilities or licensing issues. This tool is critical for any organization, not only for legal protection but also to safeguard end users and maintain high brand trust.
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Why is SBOM crucial for software security?
SBOM plays an undeniable role in software security, especially in a technological landscape that becomes more complex and threat-laden by the day. The Software Bill of Materials enables organizations to quickly detect vulnerable components and take prompt action.
Underscoring the critical value that SBOM holds today, the OSSRA (Open Source Security and Risk Analysis) in its 2024 report reveals that 91% of the code repositories examined include components that are 10 or more versions behind. The article by our CTO Paolo Mainardi Have we reached a point of no return on managing software dependencies? highlights this issue, discussing the growing difficulties in managing software dependencies, especially in the context of software supply chain security. These figures highlight the urgent need to adopt SBOM to maintain software security. Let us look at the key areas of benefit:
1. Vulnerability identification
One of the primary functions of SBOM is to identify and detect software vulnerabilities, providing a clear view of the components in use and any security gaps. A well-organized document that gathers all the resources of an application makes it easier to interpret security scans and therefore to identify vulnerabilities. Thanks to its detailed nature, the Software Bill of Materials allows scanning tools to compare the versions in use against known vulnerability databases.
2. Compliance and risk management
The Software Bill of Materials also holds great importance for compliance. It provides organizations with an essential tool to attest to conformity with regulations and industry standards. First and foremost, it enables the precise tracking and documentation of software components used in products or business systems. This transparency is vital not only for demonstrating compliance with data security and privacy laws but also for taking timely action to reduce risks related to security vulnerabilities.
You may also be interested in the video by Paolo Mainardi at the recent DevSecOpsDay, which discusses the supply chain of our cloud infrastructure.
Deep dive into the supply chain of our cloud infrastructure | Paolo Mainardi @ IDI 2023
How to create and manage an SBOM?
Creating an SBOM is no walk in the park, precisely because software is a tangle of interconnected dependencies between various components. An additional challenge lies in the need to catalog these elements using shared and unambiguous terminology, which requires cooperation with the open source community to establish standards, methodologies, and tools. In short, creating and managing an SBOM requires a rigorous method and dedicated tools to ensure everything is accurate and nothing is left to chance:
- The creation process begins with the identification and collection of software components used in the application or system. This step can be done manually, by examining the source code and software dependencies, or by using static and dynamic analysis tools to automatically identify the components.
- Next, the collected information is organized and documented in a standardized format, such as the CycloneDX or SPDX format, which provides a common structure for representing information about software components.
- Once created, the SBOM must be constantly updated to reflect any changes made to the software over time.
Finally, it is worth emphasizing that to manage an SBOM effectively, it is important to integrate it into the software development lifecycle. This means incorporating its creation, updating, and management into existing software development processes, ensuring that it is generated and updated in a consistent and systematic manner.
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SBOM and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)
The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), proposed by the European Commission, aims to improve the security of digital products and provide greater transparency to end users. In this context, SBOMs play a critical role in meeting CRA requirements.
The transparency provided by a complete and accurate Software Bill of Materials allows end users to fully understand the composition of the software and digital components present in the products they use. This not only increases user trust in the security of digital products but also provides regulatory authorities and manufacturers themselves with the necessary tools to identify and manage vulnerabilities in software components.
In conclusion, implementing an up-to-date and detailed SBOM represents a fundamental tactic for ensuring the security of software supply chains. This approach not only safeguards the integrity and security of organizations and their end users but also stands as an essential pillar for compliance with emerging cybersecurity regulations, as highlighted by the Cyber Resilience Act.
