CSC News Table of Contents
Software Supply Chain Security takes center stage as SBOM pioneer Allan Friedman joins NetRise, adding policy and implementation depth to a platform built for firmware and embedded systems risk. The move reflects growing enterprise demand for transparency, measurable outcomes, and resilience across complex software ecosystems.
Friedman has been a leading voice in SBOM adoption, guiding governments and industry on standards, tooling, and practical controls. His work connects policy to execution, which many enterprises need to scale Software Supply Chain Security with consistency and evidence.
NetRise signals intent to expand open, interoperable practices for Software Supply Chain Security across critical infrastructure, OT, IoT, and connected devices where visibility has been limited and remediation cycles are slow.
Software Supply Chain Security: Key Takeaway
- Allan Friedman’s appointment strengthens NetRise’s ability to deliver practical, scalable Software Supply Chain Security for complex firmware and embedded systems.
Recommended Tools to Strengthen Your Software Supply Chain
- Tenable Vulnerability Management, identify and remediate risks across assets and code dependencies.
- Bitdefender, advanced endpoint protection that complements SBOM driven risk reduction.
- 1Password, enterprise grade credential security for engineers and developers.
- EasyDMARC, stop domain spoofing to protect your supply chain communications.
Why This Move Matters Now
Allan Friedman brings deep experience from his leadership on SBOM policy and adoption, including efforts aligned with Executive Order 14028. His work helped define how SBOM capabilities map to real threats and measurable outcomes.
By joining NetRise, he can accelerate the operationalization of Software Supply Chain Security at scale.
NetRise focuses on firmware, embedded, and connected devices, domains known for opaque components and long tail vulnerabilities.
Enhancing visibility, finding risk in third-party code, and enabling rapid response form the foundation of effective Software Supply Chain Security in these environments. The company’s emphasis on machine speed analysis and standards alignment positions it to turn policy into action.
In its original report, the announcement highlights a broader shift, organizations want a unified view of components, dependencies, and exposure.
This aligns with community efforts like CISA’s SBOM initiative, NIST’s Secure Software Development Framework, and formats such as CycloneDX and SPDX. Together, these help teams embed Software Supply Chain Security into daily workflows.
From Policy to Practice
Enterprises increasingly treat SBOM data as a living asset. That requires continuous ingestion, correlation, and action across builds, releases, and deployed assets.
NetRise’s platform can reduce blind spots by scanning firmware and mapping libraries, versions, exploitability, and license risk. Combined with incident response, this turns Software Supply Chain Security into a proactive control rather than a compliance checkbox.
Recent incidents show how attackers exploit weak links and overlooked dependencies. Consider the wave of NPM supply chain compromises or the repository exposure in the NX supply chain breach.
In both cases, timely insight into package provenance and update pathways is critical. Software Supply Chain Security provides that clarity by illuminating what is inside, where it came from, and how to fix it.
For security leaders, the mandate is clear, integrate SBOM, vulnerability intelligence, and governance into CI/CD and asset management.
As organizations mature, Software Supply Chain Security becomes the connective tissue between development, security, procurement, and operations. It improves the speed and confidence of patching, incident containment, and vendor risk management.
Standards and Ecosystem Alignment
Standards enable collaboration at scale. CycloneDX and SPDX support consistent data exchange, while CISA’s minimum elements guidance defines required content and handling.
Building on this foundation, Software Supply Chain Security can unify cross-vendor tooling, procurement requirements, and audit readiness. It is a path to resilience that reaches beyond individual products into entire ecosystems.
Organizations also benefit from controls such as identity hardening and zero-trust. For broader defense in depth, explore how Zero Trust Architecture supports least privilege across pipelines and production.
Combined with SBOM insights, it strengthens Software Supply Chain Security against privilege misuse and lateral movement.
Implications for Vendors and Asset Owners
Advantages
Friedman’s expertise can help NetRise bridge the gap between public and private collaboration, providing buyers with practical and interoperable solutions. By focusing on firmware and embedded systems, NetRise addresses a chronic gap.
Organizations gain faster time to insight, more accurate remediation, and stronger risk signals. In short, Software Supply Chain Security becomes actionable for critical infrastructure and regulated sectors.
Potential Challenges
No single control solves the problem. SBOM completeness varies, legacy devices may lack updates, and supplier transparency can lag. Teams must also manage data volume and integrate multiple sources without slowing release velocity.
Effective Software Supply Chain Security requires disciplined processes, automation, and cross functional ownership to avoid checklist security.
More Ways to Reduce Supply Chain Risk
- IDrive, immutable backup and rapid recovery to minimize downtime after supply chain incidents.
- Auvik, network visibility that helps detect anomalous behavior from compromised components.
- Passpack, shared vaults for development teams managing secrets and integrations.
- Optery, reduce public exposure of employee data that attackers weaponize in supply chain phishing.
Conclusion
Allan Friedman’s arrival at NetRise is a timely boost for Software Supply Chain Security, especially in firmware heavy environments where visibility is scarce. His influence can help align standards with practical operations and measurable outcomes.
By combining SBOM depth with continuous analysis and response, organizations can defend against fast moving threats and dependency risks. The result is fewer surprises and faster, evidence based decisions when issues arise.
As attackers evolve, so must defenders. Now is the moment to operationalize Software Supply Chain Security as a shared responsibility for engineering, procurement, and the SOC.
Questions Worth Answering
What is an SBOM and why does it matter?
A Software Bill of Materials lists the components in software. It helps teams understand exposure, prioritize fixes, and strengthen Software Supply Chain Security.
How does NetRise fit into the supply chain ecosystem?
NetRise focuses on firmware and embedded systems analysis, providing the visibility needed to apply Software Supply Chain Security across devices with limited transparency.
Which standards should my team follow?
Adopt CycloneDX or SPDX for SBOMs and map practices to NIST SSDF. These support consistent, auditable Software Supply Chain Security.
How do recent attacks relate to SBOM practices?
Attackers exploit hidden dependencies and weak controls. SBOM-driven insights reduce blind spots and strengthen Software Supply Chain Security against such campaigns.
Is zero trust relevant to supply chain defense?
Yes. Zero trust limits blast radius if a component is compromised and complements Software Supply Chain Security with least privilege enforcement.
Where can I learn from recent incidents?
Review high impact events, such as package compromises and repository breaches, to refine your Software Supply Chain Security playbooks and escalation paths.
About NetRise
NetRise is a cybersecurity company specializing in firmware and embedded systems risk management. Its platform analyzes software components, vulnerabilities, and exposures across complex devices.
The company helps organizations gain visibility into third party dependencies and accelerates remediation with actionable intelligence. NetRise supports open standards and interoperable workflows to scale Software Supply Chain Security.
Serving critical infrastructure and enterprise customers, NetRise integrates with existing tools to operationalize Software Supply Chain Security and improve resilience across diverse environments.
About Allan Friedman
Allan Friedman is a leading expert on SBOMs and Software Supply Chain Security. He has collaborated with government, industry, and standards bodies to advance adoption.
His work focuses on translating policy into pragmatic guidelines and tools that organizations can use at scale. Friedman is known for building consensus across stakeholders.
At NetRise, he will accelerate efforts to improve transparency, interoperability, and measurable security outcomes across firmware and embedded ecosystems through Software Supply Chain Security.
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