Why Software Supply Chain Security Is Now a Boardroom Priority

Now, more than ever, software supply chain security has emerged as one of the most pressing concerns for organizational leadership. For CISOs, this represents both a mandate and an opportunity: to elevate software supply chain security from an operational concern to a boardroom priority.

Recent attacks have exposed the fragility of modern software ecosystems, where a single vulnerable component, often buried deep within a web of open-source and other third-party dependencies, can lead to catastrophic breaches. CISOs are uniquely positioned to drive change, not only by overseeing secure software development processes but by translating technical risk into strategic insight that resonates with executive leadership and the board.

CISOs Are Gaining More Influence in the Boardroom

Cybersecurity has become a fundamental component of business continuity, customer trust, and regulatory compliance. As such, the role of the CISO has expanded well beyond infrastructure and IT. 

Today, CISOs are expected to inform and guide decisions about organizational risk posture, especially where software risk intersects with business value.

Modern CISOs are leading conversations about digital transformation, secure innovation, and long-term risk mitigation strategies. Case in point: at Aptean, a global provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain software, the executive team recognized the value of application security not just as a technical control, but as a strategic investment.

According to CIO and CISO Jason Barr, high-fidelity insights across the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) helped drive adoption and understanding from the top down.

This shift is significant. When boards view AppSec through the lens of risk, governance, and trust, CISOs gain the influence they need to implement enduring, organization-wide improvements.

DevSecOps Maturity Is Still Lagging Behind

Despite this progress at the executive level, most organizations have not yet reached a state of DevSecOps maturity. According to our 2025 DevSecOps Evolution Report, only 30% of organizations consider themselves to be operating at a “mature” DevSecOps level. The majority remain in an intermediate phase, focused on improving developer experience (DevEx) but lacking the necessary integrations, automations, and shared metrics that define a collaborative security culture.

This maturity gap matters. Without integrated security testing, shared KPIs, and scalable automation, vulnerabilities often go undetected or unresolved. Meanwhile, developers remain burdened by manual security tasks. The report indicates that 72% of developers spend more than 17 hours per week on security-related tasks, while a quarter spend over 25 hours. This is time that could be spent building products and features instead, if proper tooling and processes were in place.

On the surface, the education story is encouraging: 99.6% of developers now have access to security training, and most rate that training as medium to high in effectiveness. However, the impact of training often dissipates in the face of real-world development pressures.

To be effective, security training must be embedded directly into development workflows. Integrated development environment (IDE) guidance, in-line remediation assistance, and just-in-time education offer far greater returns than stand-alone courses. Developer-friendly integrations and automated ticketing systems ensure that developers can fix vulnerabilities in real time without disrupting their flow. As a CISO, this is your call to action. Investing in the maturity of your DevSecOps programs now will enable scalable, secure software development tomorrow, and driving this mindset shift is essential to building a culture of security across your software teams.

Bringing Application Security to the Boardroom

With pressing developer timelines and the need to quickly deliver new functionality, applications are no longer written from scratch. They are assembled from an intricate mix of proprietary code, open-source libraries, and other third-party components. Each dependency introduces potential risk, making the software supply chain a high-value target for threat actors.

The infamous Log4j vulnerability (a.k.a. “Log4Shell”) is a perfect case in point. A single flaw in a widely used Java logging library set off a global security firestorm, impacting thousands of organizations and forcing emergency patches across countless systems. This was not an isolated incident. Attacks exploiting the software supply chain, including typosquatting, dependency confusion, and repojacking, are increasing in frequency and sophistication.

For business leaders, this means that a breach can disrupt revenue, operations, customer experience, and brand trust. Supply chain security is now directly tied to financial performance and long-term business continuity.

How to Elevate Your Software Supply Chain Security

As CISOs take on a more influential role in shaping business strategy, securing the software supply chain now mandates a holistic, enterprise-wide approach. To protect the organization from emerging threats and maintain trust with stakeholders, security leaders must champion scalable policies, align application risk with business objectives, and build lasting governance frameworks. The following recommendations provide a strategic blueprint for CISOs looking to lead from the front.

1. Align Software Supply Chain Security with Enterprise Risk Management

Position software supply chain risks within the organization’s broader enterprise risk management framework. Integrate AppSec priorities into board-level risk registers, cybersecurity insurance reviews, and compliance reporting cycles. This ensures that software risks are evaluated on the same level as financial, legal, and operational risks.

2. Establish a Software Security Governance Model

Build a governance model that clearly defines ownership across security, engineering, and product teams. Appoint security champions, codify accountability, track important metrics, and embed security reviews into product planning and code-review cycles, not just in the CI/CD pipeline.

3. Drive Secure-by-Design Principles at the Organizational Level

Institute secure software design principles at the architectural stage, ensuring that threat modeling, component trust evaluation, and secure coding standards are baked into the product lifecycle long before post-development audits.

4. Operationalize Security Investment with Business Context

Ensure that security investment is tied to business-critical applications and high-value services. Use application classification to guide deeper scanning and resource allocation based on real-world business impact.

5. Champion DevSecOps as a Culture Shift, Not a Toolset

The success of DevSecOps lies in trust and collaboration. As a CISO, prioritize breaking down silos, aligning incentives, and fostering shared KPIs between security and development.

6. Communicate Software Security Posture in Business Language

Develop board-ready reporting that translates security data into business impact. Move beyond technical indicators to executive-level insights: risk reduction trends, policy adherence, regulatory compliance, and investment ROI.

7. Institutionalize Continuous Assurance for the Software Supply Chain

Implement a continuous assurance model that includes Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) management, Software Composition Analysis (SCA), secrets detection, third-party risk intelligence, and automated anomaly detection across the software supply chain. This helps prevent drift and identifies risk across releases and updates.

Checkmarx: A Strategic Partner for the CISO

For CISOs seeking a scalable, developer-friendly solution, Checkmarx offers a comprehensive software supply chain security platform that aligns application security with developer usability and business risk:

• A unified AppSec platform: Checkmarx One consolidates a broad range of application security and software supply chain scanners into a single platform for streamlined risk correlation, triage, and remediation management.
  
• SCA accuracy that builds trust: Low false positive rates build developer trust, leading them to act faster, improving security outcomes and delivery speed.
  
• ASPM capabilities: Application Security Posture Management aligns scanner findings with business context, helping security leaders prioritize based on the most critical security threats.

CISOs Must Lead the Charge

The threat landscape is evolving. Attackers are no longer just exploiting weak perimeters. They are targeting the building blocks of your software development process. To respond, organizations must treat software supply chain security as a strategic priority that affects risk, revenue, and resilience.

CISOs are at the center of this transformation. By leading with secure software development practices, aligning DevSecOps with business goals, and leveraging platforms that support automation, accuracy, and insight, security leaders can turn effective application risk management into a strategic advantage.

Software supply chain security management is not just a technical initiative. It is a boardroom imperative, and the CISO is the catalyst.If AppSec is top of mind for your organization, check out the Checkmarx Future of Application Security report for more insights and trends – and how you can stay ahead.