The UK government’s flagship cyber security event, CyberUK 2024. is just around the corner! Hosted by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), this annual gathering brings together over 2,000 cyber security leaders and professionals for networking, knowledge exchange, and collaboration.
We will be exhibiting at CyberUK 2024. Loved by SMEs and CNI, our secure-by-design agile approach to software development delights developers and compliance teams. Come and learn how Meterian protects the Open Source Software Supply Chain.
Visit us Stand IZ3 at the Birmingham ICC, May 13-15th.
The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) represents a significant step towards ensuring that the financial sector can withstand and rapidly recover from ICT-related disruptions and threats. Among the wide variety of security testing tools and actions mandated by DORA, Software Composition Analysis (SCA) emerges as a critical component. Let’s explore why SCA is vital in this new regulatory landscape and how solutions like Meterian can be particularly beneficial.
What is Software Composition Analysis?
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) is a cybersecurity process that helps organizations identify and manage open source components within their software inventory. SCA tools scan software projects to detect open source libraries and frameworks, check the versions used, and compare them against databases of known vulnerabilities. Additionally, SCA assesses license compliance risks, ensuring that the open source licenses are compatible with corporate policies on software usage.
The Role of SCA Under DORA
The DORA framework emphasizes the need for a broad and adaptable approach to cybersecurity, recognizing the diverse nature of financial entities and their varying levels of ICT maturity. Here’s why SCA is integral to this approach.
Vulnerability Management Financial entities utilize a plethora of software solutions, many of which rely on open-source components. SCA provides a systematic approach to detecting vulnerabilities in these components, some of which may be critical and widely exploited in the financial sector. By identifying these vulnerabilities early, financial institutions can patch them before they are exploited.
Compliance and Risk Management DORA calls for rigorous compliance standards, including in areas like software licensing. SCA tools automatically detect the licenses of every component and alert teams about potential legal and operational risks, thus supporting compliance with DORA requirements.
Enhanced Operational Resilience By integrating SCA into their cybersecurity practices, financial institutions can improve their operational resilience. Knowing exactly what is in their software reduces the time and resources spent on crisis management in the event of a security breach.
Supporting Advanced Testing Requirements As entities mature, advanced testing such as Threat-Led Penetration Testing (TLPT) becomes viable. SCA ensures that the foundational elements of software security are addressed, which is critical for conducting more sophisticated, scenario-based tests effectively.
How Meterian Can Help
In the context of DORA, Meterian stands out as a valuable ally for financial institutions aiming to enhance their software security posture. Here’s how Meterian can specifically support compliance and resilience:
Continuous Security and Compliance Monitoring: Meterian continuously scans your software projects, providing real-time alerts on new vulnerabilities and compliance issues. This ongoing monitoring ensures that financial entities can respond promptly to emerging threats.
Automated Fix Suggestions: Beyond identifying issues, Meterian provides actionable insights and automated fix suggestions. This helps in quickly resolving vulnerabilities and license conflicts, significantly reducing the window of exposure.
Ease of Integration: Meterian’s platform can be seamlessly integrated into existing development workflows. This integration ensures that security and compliance checks occur throughout the software development life cycle, aligning with DORA’s emphasis on continuous improvement and adaptation.
Customizable Reporting: Meterian offers detailed, customizable reports that can assist financial entities in demonstrating their compliance with DORA regulations to regulators. These reports provide clear evidence of the proactive measures taken to ensure operational resilience.
By leveraging SCA tools like Meterian, financial institutions can not only meet the stringent requirements set forth by DORA but also significantly strengthen their cybersecurity frameworks. This proactive approach to software security is essential in a landscape where digital operations are increasingly integral to financial stability and success.
The European Union Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which was proposed on September 15, 2022, is the first EU-wide legislation addressing cybersecurity requirements for software and hardware manufacturers. Unlike the U.S. Executive Order, the CRA extends to all vendors who create products with digital components that connect to the internet. It will become enforceable in early 2027, three years after its ratification.
SBOM Requirements of the CRA
One of its key requirements focuses on Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs). An SBOM is essentially a comprehensive inventory of all software components used in a product. It provides transparency by listing out the dependencies, libraries, and third-party code that make up a software application. Think of it as a “recipe” for your software – it tells you exactly what ingredients (components) are included.
The key points related to Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) requirements under the EU Cyber Resilience Act are:
Manufacturers must identify and document product components and vulnerabilities, including the creation of a SBOM of at least the top-level dependencies of the product
The SBOM does not have to be made publicly available
The SBOM should be included in the technical documentation and, upon request, provided to market surveillance authorities
The EU Cyber Resilience Act mandates SBOM adoption to enhance cybersecurity and ensure transparency in software and hardware supply chains. Manufacturers need to create SBOMs for their products, while public availability is not required.
Why SBOMs are essential
SBOMs are a sensible tool to manage your supply chain transparency. With the increasing complexity of software supply chains, understanding what goes into your product is crucial. SBOMs allow manufacturers to trace the origins of each component, identify vulnerabilities, and assess risks.
By having an SBOM, organisations can proactively address security vulnerabilities. When a known vulnerability is discovered in a library or component, manufacturers can quickly assess which products are affected and take necessary remediation steps.
They are also required for compliance and legal requirements. Specifically, the CRA mandates that manufacturers create SBOMs for their products. Compliance ensures that products meet cybersecurity standards and reduces legal risks.
Why SBOMs are complicated
Creating and maintaining Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) is a time-consuming process due to the intricate nature of modern software. Applications are no longer simple; they consist of interconnected components, libraries, and dependencies. The prevalence of open-source software further complicates matters. Each component introduces its own set of dependencies, licences, and potential vulnerabilities. Identifying and tracking all these elements manually is a daunting task. Ensuring accuracy, compliance, and security within this complex landscape inevitably consumes significant time and effort.
That’s the reason why it’s a good idea to adopt an automated solution that takes this problem away.
Meterian: your automated SBOM solution
Using automated analysis, Meterian continuously scans your codebase, identifies the whole network of dependencies, and generates an SBOM automatically. No manual effort required, as SBOMS can be created and stored during the analysis, or later on demand. This will save a substantial amount of time to your developers, who can say goodbye to weeks of research at each release. Everything happens directly on your pipelines or at the touch of a button.
With the help of his powerful vulnerability scanner, Meterian provides you all relevant vulnerability Insights. The Meterian vulnerability database tracks more than 340k vulnerabilities across more than 20 different OSINT sources. You will also automatically receive real-time alerts about vulnerabilities in your components, even if you do not actively analyse them: Meterian will do it for you.
Meterian is easy to integrate in your processes, as it seamlessly integrates with your development pipelines, ensuring continuous monitoring without any extra activity. A simple click, some lines of YAML, one or two lines of script, is all it takes. You get protection against vulnerabilities and compliance at the same time, without any extra effort.
Conclusion
As the EU Cyber Resilience Act comes into effect, manufacturers are required to embrace SBOMs to ensure transparency, enhance risk management, and achieve compliance. The Meterian platform simplifies the generation of SBOMs, enabling you to concentrate on developing secure and resilient software.
Remember: An SBOM isn’t just a regulatory requirement; it’s a powerful tool for safeguarding your digital products. Start creating your SBOMs today!
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