On 22 October, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) published its new Technical Advisory for Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), providing practical guidance for organisations, particularly micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), taking their first steps towards software supply chain transparency.
Modern software products can contain hundreds or even thousands of components. Without knowing what those components are, identifying vulnerabilities and responding to emerging cybersecurity risks becomes much more difficult.
An SBOM provides visibility into the components that make up a software product, helping organisations improve traceability, identify potentially affected components and support vulnerability management throughout the product lifecycle.
ENISA’s new advisory goes beyond explaining what an SBOM is. It provides practical guidance on:
- SBOM implementation – architecture, data flows and lifecycle management, including integration into software development processes.
- Threats and risks – an indicative threat model and security risks associated with the SBOM ecosystem.
- Security measures – recommendations for addressing risks, improving integration and supporting secure SBOM management.
The advisory also builds on ENISA’s Secure by Design and Default Playbook and considers relevant requirements under the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).
For manufacturers and SMEs preparing for the CRA, this is another useful resource for understanding how software component transparency can support security and vulnerability management in practice.
At CRACoWi, we welcome practical resources that help organisations move from understanding regulatory requirements to implementing cybersecurity measures.
You can find the document at the link: ENISA’s Technical Advisory for SBOM
