Threat Landscape and Supply Chain Security

This unit surveys the modern cyber threat landscape, examining why attacks have increased, the anatomy of common attacks (social engineering, ransomware, DDoS, botnets), and systemic root causes. It also introduces risks and defenses for supply chains, cloud, IoT/mobility, critical infrastructure, IT/OT convergence, and the role of AI in supply chain resilience to prepare learners for applied risk management and defensive techniques in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze historical and contemporary cyber incidents (breaches, ransomware, DDoS, botnets) to identify common attacker tactics, systemic root causes, and lessons learned
• Evaluate social engineering, phishing, insider threats, and identity-theft scenarios to determine indicators of compromise and appropriate human-centered mitigation strategies
• Apply risk assessment principles to IoT, cloud, software supply chains, and critical infrastructure to prioritize vulnerabilities and recommend technical, administrative, and supply-chain controls
• Demonstrate basic concepts for leveraging AI/ML in supply chain management and cyber defense by outlining detection or optimization approaches and evaluating associated ethical and resiliency implications