The Axios Supply Chain Compromise: A Post-Mortem on Infrastructure Trust, Nation-State Proxy Warfare, and the Fragility of Modern JavaScript Ecosystems

TL:DR: This is a Developing Situation and I will try to update it as we dissect more. If you’d prefer the remediation protocol directly, you can head to the bottom. In case you want to understand the anatomy of the attack and background, I have made a video that can be a quick explainer. The … Read more

Supply-Chain Extortion Lessons from the Pornhub-Mixpanel Incident

When the Weakest API Becomes the Loudest Breach. Key Takeaways for Security Leaders You can giggle about the subject if you want. The headlines almost invite it. An adult platform. Premium users. Leaked “activity data.” It sounds like internet tabloid fodder. But behind the jokes is a breach that should make every security leader deeply … Read more

How To Measure Real Success In Software Engineering

Recently, while attending The Business Show in London, I engaged in a conversation with a CXO of an upcoming Fintech company. The discussion began with cybersecurity implementation—a topic close to my heart—but quickly veered into the realm of engineering throughput. What followed was an incoherent rant by the CXO, a frustrating narrative about firing their … Read more

The Truth About “Ghost Engineers”: A Critical Analysis

Disclaimer:This article is not intended to discredit Boris Denisov, Stanford University, McKinsey, or any other entities referenced herein. I hold immense respect for their contributions to research and industry discourse. While findings like these may resonate with practices in FAANG companies, large organizations, and mature startups, this critique seeks to explore the broader implications of … Read more

Do You Know What’s in Your Supply Chain? The Case for Better Security

I recently read an interesting report by CyCognito on the top 3 vulnerabilities on third-party products and it sparked my interest to reexamine the supply chain risks in software engineering. This article is an attempt at that. The Vulnerability Trifecta in Third-Party Products The CyCognito report identifies three critical areas where third-party products introduce significant … Read more

Hidden Threats in PyPI and NPM: What You Need to Know

Introduction: Dependency Dangers in the Developer Ecosystem Modern software development is fuelled by open-source packages, ranging from Python (PyPI) and JavaScript (npm) to PHP (phar) and pip modules. These packages have revolutionised development cycles by providing reusable components, thereby accelerating productivity and creating a rich ecosystem for innovation. However, this very reliance comes with a … Read more