Chainguard’s Vision for a Safer Software Supply Chain

Today, we ran a full-page ad in the Washington Post because we have a vision for the future of secure software development. One where security and innovation move in lockstep and every line of code makes software safer, not more vulnerable.

At a time when the software industry faces relentless supply chain attacks and growing concerns around digital security, we see an opportunity to challenge the status quo and build that future.

Do You Trust Your Software Supply Chain?

This isn’t a rhetorical inquiry; it’s a call to action. Over the past few years, high-profile supply chain attacks like SolarWinds attack and the Log4Shell vulnerability have eroded confidence in traditional digital infrastructure. These incidents didn’t just exploit weaknesses; they turned trusted tools into threats, leaving organizations scrambling to mitigate damage.

It’s like watching a burglar raid your home in real-time on your security camera, but being powerless to stop them. Traditional security tools are often reactive — scanners that catch threats serve an important purpose, but Chainguard’s vision flips this narrative: what if every update made your software safer? What if you could prevent vulnerabilities instead of constantly patching them?

Building a Future Where Security and Innovation Coexist

Security shouldn’t come at the cost of innovation. We’re done watching supply chain attacks compromise the world’s systems. Instead, we’re working with our customer base of over 100 organizations to pioneer a paradigm shift — one where security enables trusted innovation.

In this new world, every binary is signed, every dependency is verified, and open source software is free from fear. We’re fostering a development environment where verifying the integrity of dependencies is as automatic as syntax highlighting. Every container image is built directly from source and carries cryptographic proof of its build process and composition — and every vulnerability is patched. In this world, security is built in, and enables innovation. It is a future-facing approach.

The building blocks for this transformation are already emerging. New standards for supply chain integrity, propelled by executive orders and industry initiatives, are laying the groundwork. Take Sigstore, for example, which makes code signing ubiquitous and accessible.

We’re fundamentally shifting how we think about security and productivity. The perception that security slows down development is being challenged. Our approach demonstrates that thoughtfully designed, seamlessly integrated security controls can accelerate development by eliminating entire categories of risks and incidents.

Collaboration Across the Ecosystem

Transforming software security at this scale requires collective effort. From individual developers to open source maintainers, cloud providers to enterprise organizations, the entire software ecosystem must align. By embedding security as an inherent property of development tools and processes, we can ensure that every line of code is secure by default. This isn’t just an aspirational vision; it’s an imperative one.

As we stated in our ad, this isn’t about better tooling—it’s about fundamentally transforming secure software development and deployment. It’s about building the future instead of patching the past. In a world increasingly reliant on software for critical infrastructure, medical devices, and financial systems, the security of our software supply chains is becoming inseparable from societal security.

Join the Movement

We hope this vision feels both urgent and inspiring. The organizations that adapt to this new reality in 2025 will be the ones thriving in 2035 and beyond. We’re inviting you to take part in this movement.

Join us in San Francisco on March 25, 2025 at Assemble, our first ever event for engineering and security leaders committed to building the future of secure software. We’ll be sharing Chainguard product innovations that get us closer to achieving this vision, as well as several sessions from our customers sharing tips and tricks for improving security and future-proofing your software development lifecycle. Save your spot today!