Introducing Veracode Package Firewall: Your First Line of Defense Against Software Supply Chain Attacks

Open-source and third-party packages drive innovation but expose your software supply chain to relentless cyberattacks. Veracode’s 2025 State of Software Security (SoSS) report reveals a chilling truth: 70% of critical security debt originates from third-party code.   

Sophisticated attackers exploit typo-squatting (e.g., “react-module” vs. “react-module”) and backdoored dependencies to inject malware into repositories like NPM and PyPI. With new regulations like the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), effective January 2025, mandating rigorous supply chain security and Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs), the stakes are higher than ever. A single breach now averages $4.88M in damages (IBM, 2024), threatening financial and reputational ruin. 

Veracode Package Firewall: Proactive Protection at the Source 

Veracode Package Firewall delivers advanced, automated protection, proactively blocking malicious and untrusted packages to secure your applications from supply chain threats before they infiltrate your environment. 

Built on proprietary threat intelligence, including expertise from our Veracode Threat Research group, Package Firewall acts as the first line of defense in your software supply chain. Here’s how it works: 

• Real-Time Threat Prevention: Package Firewall monitors open-source registries like npm, PyPI, and Maven, blocking suspicious packages at the point of download. It detects anomalies such as typo-squatting, hijacked libraries, and backdoored dependencies, ensuring threats are stopped before they can infiltrate your pipeline. 
• Customizable Policies: With over 20 pre-built policies across five domains (e.g., vulnerabilities, malware, licenses), plus custom rules, you can tailor Package Firewall to your organization’s risk appetite. For example, you can block packages that lack active maintenance or violate compliance requirements. 
• Seamless Integration: Package Firewall deploys in seconds, integrating with repositories and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab) to enforce policies without disrupting development workflows. Developers can continue coding with confidence, knowing risks are being mitigated in real time. 

By preventing malicious packages from entering your pipeline, Veracode Package Firewall helps organizations strengthen security at the source, reduce risk of costly breaches, and accelerate delivery by minimizing late-stage remediation. 

The Real-World Cost of Supply Chain Attacks: A Wake-Up Call 

The consequences of software supply chain attacks are no longer theoretical—they’re headline news. Consider the 2021 Log4Shell vulnerability (CVE-2021-44228), which exposed millions of systems worldwide due to a flaw in the ubiquitous Apache Log4j library. Attackers exploited this single dependency to deploy ransomware, steal data, and disrupt operations across industries, from finance to healthcare. Veracode’s 2023 analysis found that 40% of applications were still using vulnerable Log4j versions two years later, underscoring the persistent challenge of securing open-source dependencies. 

More recently, a 2024 incident involving a backdoored PyPI package demonstrated the evolving sophistication of attackers. A malicious package, disguised as a legitimate data processing library, was downloaded thousands of times before being flagged. It contained hidden code that exfiltrated sensitive data to a remote server, costing affected organizations millions in recovery and lost trust. 

The financial toll is staggering. Beyond the $4.88M average breach cost (IBM, 2024), organizations face regulatory fines, customer churn, and eroded market confidence. With attackers increasingly targeting repositories, the need for proactive defenses is urgent. Veracode Package Firewall addresses this by providing a robust shield that prevents threats from entering your pipeline, ensuring compliance with regulations like DORA and protecting your business from the devastating ripple effects of supply chain attacks. 

Enhancing the Value for Existing Veracode SCA Customers 

For organizations already using Veracode Software Composition Analysis (SCA), Package Firewall adds a powerful layer of protection, creating a comprehensive “one-two punch” for supply chain security. While SCA excels at detection by identifying and remediating vulnerabilities in existing dependencies—mapping direct and transitive dependencies, prioritizing risks, and providing AI-powered fix recommendations via Veracode Fix—Package Firewall focuses on prevention, ensuring risky packages never make it into your environment in the first place. 

Here’s how Package Firewall enhances the value for SCA customers:  

• Upstream Prevention: SCA identifies vulnerabilities in dependencies already in use, but Package Firewall stops malicious packages before they’re even downloaded, reducing the number of issues SCA needs to address.  
• Unified Visibility: Package Firewall logs all package installations, complementing SCA’s deep dependency analysis to provide end-to-end visibility into your supply chain.  
• Improved Developer Productivity: By blocking risky packages at the source, Package Firewall reduces the number of vulnerabilities developers need to remediate, minimizing workflow disruptions.  

Together, Package Firewall and SCA deliver a 360-degree defense, ensuring your software supply chain is secure from the point of download to runtime.  

Learn More: Download Our eBook 

Want to dive deeper into how Veracode Package Firewall and SCA can transform your supply chain security? Download our eBook to learn what to look for when Securing Your Supply Chain.  

Take the Next Step: Secure your software supply chain with Veracode Package Firewall and SCA. Download the eBook today or schedule a demo to see our platform in action. Visit www.veracode.com or call 1-888-732-2563 to get started.