Supply Chain Attacks: Identity Becomes a Key Target

Supply Chain Attacks: Identity Becomes a Key Target

In a new study Rubrik Zero Labs analyzed more than 400 incidents involving software supply chain compromises recorded from January through the end of July 2026. One of the study’s key findings is that software supply chain attacks are shifting toward identity compromise—including accounts, tokens, and other mechanisms used to access software development infrastructure.

The theft of credentials and secrets became the most common attacker action in these attacks: it appeared in 52.5% of incidents with an identified attack technique. Approximately 39% of all cases involved digital identity compromise, ranging from the theft of npm and GitHub tokens to the abuse of OAuth access.

npm remains the primary attack channel for malicious software packages: it accounted for 50.2% of incidents, where the package registry could be identified. Another 29.3% involved other software distribution channels—including IDE and browser extensions, AI tool distribution platforms, and other ecosystems.

Version control systems and CI/CD appeared in approximately 12.6% of all cases. The potential scale is especially significant here: compromising a single token or automated process can allow attackers to distribute malicious changes across numerous repositories at once.

Among the most active groups linked to supply chain attacks is TeamPCP. This financially motivated group accounted for 34.1% of all incidents, where the attacker could be identified. The group’s targets included SSH keys, cloud infrastructure and Kubernetes credentials, as well as other secrets enabling administrative access.

The report also mentions the role of AI, but this time as a target for attackers: AI-related components appeared in approximately 18% of incidents. Attackers are targeting API keys and access tokens for AI services: 15 malicious JetBrains extensions with nearly 70,000 installations were designed to steal such data. Researchers also identified more than 575 compromised packages on Hugging Face and ClawHub, which are used to distribute AI tools.

As a result, supply chain attacks are becoming increasingly intertwined with digital identity compromise: taking over a trusted account or compromising an automated code delivery process often gives an attacker broader access than exploiting an individual flaw in vulnerable software. This shifts the focus of supply chain security from checking the code itself to controlling the accounts, services, and other mechanisms through which code is modified and published.