The National Counterintelligence and Security Center has kicked off an initiative to raise awareness about the increasing threats to the supply chains.
“Foreign intelligence entities and other adversaries are increasingly exploiting supply chain vulnerabilities to steal America’s intellectual property, corrupt our software, and surveil our critical infrastructure,” NCSC Director William Evanina said in a statement.
“Bypassing our security perimeters, they’re infiltrating our trusted suppliers to target equipment, systems, and information used every day by the government, businesses, and individuals. The cost to our nation comes not only in in lost U.S. innovation, jobs, and economic advantage, but also in reduced U.S. military readiness,” he added.
Throughout April, which has been designated as National Supply Chain Integrity Month, NCSC is teaming with the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Pentagon’s Center for the Development of Security Excellence to educate both private and public sector stakeholders about supply chain threats and risk mitigation.
NCSC said recent supply chain attacks from China and Russia highlight this growing threat. Hackers tied to Chinese intelligence services were indicted last December for breaching managed services providers worldwide to pinch intellectual property. Earlier in the year, FBI and DHS sounded the alarm about an ongoing campaign by Russian government cyber spies surveilling U.S. energy sector networks.