A Software Bill Of Materials is no longer just a fad and a trend but in many cases a requirement. The industry and quite possibly your regional government are demanding them. Your stakeholders, your vendors, your suppliers, and even your consumers now want to know what ingredients you’re cooking their programs — everyone, given today’s high-risk cyber-ecosystem, are more than weary with whom they get in bed with. Or in your case, with what software they brush up against. In this article, we’re going to give you a quick recap of what a Software Bill of Materials is, and then we’re going to focus on the 3 industry standard SBOM formats.
What are SBOMs and why are they critical to your risk management?
The term “software bill of materials” was coined by IBM in 1978. A software bill of materials -SBOM – is a list of all the components required for a software product. It is also known as an inventory list or parts list. Your software is made up of, well, different software — we’re talking about in-house coding, licensed/bought top-tier codes, and free open-source coding. Each and every one has its hiccups, has their features, and has their inherent vulnerabilities.
An SBOM contains information about the type and quantity of each component, its revision number, its version, and its vendors. The SBOM is used to keep track of components. Not only do the people that interact with your software know what ingredients it has, but at the end of the day you also need to know. Why? Well, for multiple reasons. For example, for updates. Open-source components need to be continually updated to mitigate cyber-security risks and to incorporate new tools. If you’re unaware of what version you’ve incorporated into your product, then you’re ignorant of the vulnerabilities it has and the patches the company that produced it might have come up with over the years.
SBOMs are becoming a critical component of vulnerability management because they help to identify and assess vulnerabilities in the IT infrastructure. They also help to monitor network traffic for suspicious activities, detect malware and spyware, and provide other security services such as intrusion detection.
At its core, they are bills of data structure that define the software components and their relationships to each other. It provides an up-to-date inventory list that anyone can access and make use of — and since it’s written – thanks to SBOM formats – in common industry-wide language, anyone within your ecosystem and outside of it can understand it.
What are SBOM formats?
SBOM formats are a set of standards that allow organizations to store, share and transfer information related to the software they use. These formats are used in many industries, such as healthcare, finance, and government.
The format includes information about what software is being used, what components it has, how it is being used, who is using it and when it was last updated. This data can be collected through a variety of methods including self-reporting or by scanning the network for installed software.
These formats were created to standardize how organizations manage their software inventory and usage. They also allow for easier collaboration between different agencies and departments that may be using different types of systems.
There are multiple ways to produce them — including the ever-popular Excel Sheet — but the industry has nevertheless embraced 3 SBOM formats.
Software Package Data Exchange – SPDX.
Software Package Data Exchange -SPDX – is a set of guidelines for the open exchange of software package information. It is an initiative by the Linux Foundation, with support from major technology companies, to create a standard format for publishing and sharing license information.
The idea behind SPDX is to make it easier for companies to share their license information in a standardized way. The goal is to remove some of the barriers that can prevent collaboration between organizations and individuals, as well as remove the need for costly data conversion processes.
In recent years there has been an increase in patent litigation, which has led to an increase in the need for standardization of software licenses. SPDX allows businesses to easily identify how a company’s intellectual property rights are protected and what type of license they offer.
SPDX SBOM format is a great way of knowing what you have and if you’re infringing on its use.
CycloneDX
CycloneDX is a game changer in the world of big data analytics. It has been designed to solve the problems of high-volume and low-value data by converting them into powerful insights.
CycloneDX is an enterprise-grade solution that can be used by any industry vertical to make better business decisions.
It enables users to use their own data, or purchase data from CycloneDX’s robust marketplace, and extract valuable information from it. This information can be used for predictive modeling and building out custom analytics dashboards for a specific industry vertical.
The CycloneDX SBOM Format solution is unique because it was created from the onset with that goal in mind — to be a Bill of Materials format and meet a multitude of use cases.
Software Identification – SWID – Tagging
Software Identification -SWID – Tagging is the process of tagging an application with a unique identifier that can be used to identify the application and its corresponding version. This can be done by adding a tag to the executable file or by adding it to the metadata of the installer.
SWID tagging is important for software developers as it helps them track their software in distribution channels and identify pirated versions. It also helps them identify and fix any bugs that might have been introduced in their release.
Picking the right SBOM format is right for you
There’s no golden rule — frankly, some small boutique enterprise can get away with a Google Sheet. The important thing is to create an easy-to-share and easy-to-comprehend SBOM that end users and customers can take advantage of — that is transparent and structured. Each has their quirks and features, and each in their own way can be employed for different end-use – such as software as service. It all depends on your company, your bandwidth, and the level of technical expertise you employ.
The SBOM format ecosystem will evolve as SBOM adoption and maturity continues to grow. We will see innovations from these projects as well as potential new SBOM formats enter the fold. While there is room for debate about which format may be superior, the need for software supply chain transparency and security is becoming non-negotiable as malicious actors rapidly increase their use of this attack vector.
