Visualizing Supply Chain Vulnerabilities with Global Mapping Technologies

| Updated on October 4, 2024

As countries become more and more interconnected in the world economy, sophisticated supply chain activities have also become one of the most critical business functions linking manufacturers, producers, suppliers, and customers, even though they may be far apart. 

Interconnectedness, however, apart from bringing about economic growth, efficiency, and business opportunities, has also brought new and more complicated problems that adversely affect businesses. 

In this regard, Global Mapping Technologies comes into the picture – a software that efficiently maps and assesses supply chain weakness so as to help in the risk management and decision-making processes. 

In this article, you will understand the most common supply chain vulnerabilities and their impact in addition to the mapping solution for it. Also, learn about Importance of Customized Hosting Solutions by reading this article.

The most common supply chain vulnerabilities 

At one time, natural phenomena, geopolitical events, and labor disputes were significant concerns in the land of the supply chain.

However, with time, the emergence of cyberattacks, breachers, and supply chain attacks have posed a significant threat to businesses of all sizes.  

Open Source Attacks

Open source is a critical aspect of any software supply chain, and because more and more are relying on it, the supply chain is increasingly targeted by attackers. 

They aim at injecting malicious code into software components to compromise downstream users and can take many forms, such as malicious code injections into legitimate software, hijacking software updates, and attacks on IT and operational technologies

Single sign-on (SSO) attacks

Did you know that companies like BMW, Rolls Royce, and Mercedes-Benz had experienced attacks in which “access to hundreds of mission-critical internal applications” had been compromised via improperly configured SSO protocols?

That’s one such case related to a Single sign-on (SSO) attack where they convinced users to click on a malicious link so that the attackers would be able to exploit the company’s SSO to access and change source code. 

Security Certificate Attack

You are probably aware that a Security Certificate which is also referred to as an SSL certificate, is a certificate that is used for authenticating a website and creates a secure channel with the user. 

In layman’s language, it assures customers that they will be safe when using the site or the product; regrettably, the thieves have come up with a way of doing this too by stealing it and putting bugs in it.

Do You Know?
The first online supply chain mapping platform was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2008.

CyberAttacks

The risk of data breaches and cyberattacks for supply chains has increased, potentially leading to the loss of sensitive information and disruptions. 

According to BlueVoyant’s state of supply chain defense report, supply chain cybersecurity breaches reached 4.16 incidents per business in 2023, up from 3.29 in 2022.

Geopolitical Risks 

Such risk factors as geopolitical risks incorporate outer aspects like wars, trade disruptions, natural calamities, outbreaks of diseases, and so forth which drastically affect the reliability and efficacy of the supply chain hence resulting in more cost, delays, and insufficiencies.

Supply chain mapping as a solution

For any organization that seeks to know who, how, and where their production of goods or services takes place, supply chain mapping is fundamental. 

Appropriate supply chain maps indicate where risks are likely to come from, facilitate tracking of such risks, and management of legal compliance risks.

Today the best mapping software uses the latest artificial intelligence technology to help companies gain insights about potential risks and visualize their global supply chains. 

Mitigating geopolitical risks to the supply chain 

The first initial step in managing geopolitical risks to the supply chain involves identifying and analyzing potential threats.

Organizations must frequently possess and utilize risk management perspectives that are directed and focused on political, economic, and social shifts in different regions’ markets.

Another aspect is flexibility which plays a pivotal role in responding to geopolitical uncertainties.

This strategy reduces the risk of a business getting stuck to one provider and provides options in case something goes wrong. 

Transport diversification through, for example, a multi-modal system can also alleviate transnational transport problems that might arise as a result of geopolitical issues.

Addressing cybersecurity issues 

The supply chain company teams are heavily responsible for managing the implementation of cybersecurity strategies to improve its risk management approach. 

The steps they must take include,

  • Completely understand and keep track of supply chain breaches, data leaks, and malware attacks that can affect the company. 
  • The next major step is to identify what measures are already in place and what is missing; identify by running risk management assessments such as hardware to prevent or mitigate incursions, software used on network computers, education, AI, and purchasing tools, moreover, predicting the future of the company. 
  • As the team knows what measures are in place and what is missing, in the next step they must improve the already placed risk mitigations, and implement the missing ones. 

To be more secure, regularly double-check e-mails for possible phishing attempts, educate your entire staff on best practices to avoid cyberattacks, encourage them to use strong passwords, and keep multi-factor authentication. 

Reducing the impact on logistics service providers

Constant and sometimes rapid changes in market trends, consumer demand, and economic conditions in general may cause problems with inventory control and lead to excess or undersupply. 

As indicated by recent research, approximately 32% of business executives hold that variability of demand among customers is the significant aspect of causing business vulnerability in value chains.  

Considering this, implementing strategies that focus on the identification of such possible threats to the organization is pivotal to saving your business from the adverse effects of interruptions.




Kimmi Dhiman

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