"A single compromised package can cascade through an entire dependency tree, affecting thousands of downstream projects. The attack vector hasn't changed. What's changed is how efficiently attackers can identify and exploit opportunities. AI has collapsed the barrier to entry. Just as AI has enabled one-person software projects to build sophisticated applications, the same is true in cybercrime. What used to require large, organized operations can now be executed by lean teams, even individuals."
"As software projects become simpler to develop, and threat actors show an ability to play the long game (as with the XZ Utils attack) - we're likely to see more cases where attackers publish legitimate packages that build trust over time, then one day, with the click of a button, inject malicious capabilities to all downstream users. Phishing: Still Just One Click Away Phishing still works for the same reason it always has: humans remain the weakest link."
Attackers are concentrating on tried-and-true entry points while improving efficiency and scale. Supply-chain attacks remain potent because a single compromised package can cascade across dependency trees and impact thousands of downstream projects. AI has lowered the barrier to entry, enabling lean teams or individuals to craft and deploy sophisticated supply-chain attacks that build trust over time and later inject malicious code. Phishing persists because humans are the weakest link; credential compromise of a developer can poison widely used packages. Long-term, attackers will increasingly publish legitimate-seeming packages, accumulate trust, and then flip them to deliver malicious capabilities at scale.
Read at The Hacker News
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