Glossary entry
Supply Chain Attack
Wallets & SecurityA supply chain attack poisons a dependency so trusted software turns hostile. How the Ledger Connect Kit incident worked and how to limit exposure.
Definition
A supply chain attack compromises something a project depends on rather than the project itself, so the malicious code arrives through a trusted update. In crypto this usually means a poisoned software library, a hijacked package registry account, or a tampered front-end build, after which every user of an otherwise honest application signs transactions crafted by the attacker. The December 2023 compromise of Ledger's Connect Kit library is a documented example, injecting a drainer into websites that loaded it from a public package registry. Defences are layered: pin and verify dependency versions, use a hardware wallet that shows the real transaction contents, and treat any interface that suddenly asks for an unusual approval as suspect.
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