Typical severity: High. Likelihood of attack: Low. An attacker implants malicious software into the system in the supply chain distribution channel, with purpose of causing malicious disruption or allowing for additional compromise when the system is deployed.
Deploy strong code integrity policies to allow only authorized apps to run. | Use endpoint detection and response solutions that can automaticalkly detect and remediate suspicious activities. | Maintain a highly secure build and update infrastructure by immediately applying security patches for OS and software, implementing mandatory integrity controls to ensure only trusted tools run, and requiring multi-factor authentication for admins. | Require SSL for update channels and implement certificate transparency based verification. | Sign everything, including configuration files, XML files and packages.