Why Go Beyond SCA? Improve Software Supply Chain Security with Binary Analysis

If you’re like most organizations pursuing secure-by-design principles or working on maintaining or achieving compliance with standards like ISO 27001 or the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), you’ve likely adopted Software Composition Analysis (SCA) into your software security process. With SCA tools, you can effectively identify known vulnerabilities in open-source components, assuming you have the source code and metadata.

But is that enough? What’s in the source code doesn’t always match what’s integrated into the final product.

Modern build environments often introduce undocumented dependencies. Firmware can include third-party components never captured in an SBOM. Even if you have the source code, compiled binaries can contain hidden issues like hard-coded secrets or misconfigured libraries. You can’t see these, analyzing the source code on its own.

To truly understand and manage your risk surface, you need to go beyond SCA. You need to look at what actually runs on your device.

Why SCA Isn’t Enough for Software Security

Please don’t misread: You need SCA to secure software supply chains. SCA helps developers identify known vulnerabilities in third-party components during development. But here’s where SCA falls short:

• SCA only works when source code is available.
• SCA needs accurate and complete dependency declarations.
• SCA does not inspect what the compiler or build system actually produced.

With these limitations, you have blind spots in your risk posture, especially in environments where you don’t have complete visibility. Consider: legacy software, third-party firmware, or acquired binaries.

Why Binary Analysis Reveals More Than SCA

Binary analysis tackles these gaps, examining compiled binaries directly, even if you don’t have the source code. Why does that matter?

What runs on your devices is not the source code. It’s the binary.

Here are a few reasons why that distinction matters:

• Undocumented dependencies: Build tools can silently introduce components not tracked in your SBOM.
• Compiler modifications: Optimization and linking can change code behavior in subtle but security-relevant ways.
• Opaque firmware: Many third-party firmware packages are provided only in binary form.
• Danger can hide in your enterprise networking devices. How many? One study found an average of seven network-accessible, weaponized vulnerabilities per device.

With binary analysis, you’re not guessing. You’re analyzing the actual code running on the device. That gives you visibility that SCA simply can’t offer.

How to Build a Complete, Classified Inventory of Software Components

With binary analysis, you can create a complete, categorized inventory of the components within your binaries, including:

• Third-party libraries (even when they’re not declared)
• Cryptographic materials
• Hard-coded secrets (like API keys and credentials)
• Scripts
• Misconfigurations
  
  

This inventory is foundational, and referenced across many best practices and compliance efforts, including:

• ISO 27001 and other ISMS frameworks requiring comprehensive asset management.
• CIS Controls prioritizing software asset inventories.
• Vulnerability management workflows that need accurate visibility.

By focusing on the security of the software that powers devices across your enterprise, you’re closing a critical visibility gap.

Detect Weaknesses Before They Become Threats

NetRise ZeroDay uses artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover weak points in your software, before they become published vulnerabilities. ZeroLens analyzes binary files, using AI to map CWEs based on the surrounding code context, providing more proactive detection than traditional AppSec tools that only scan source code. 

ZeroLens cuts through the noise of too much information and helps you prioritize risk, and determine what to fix first.

Firmware Is Part of the Attack Surface

Not all organizations consider firmware to be part of your software supply chain, but attackers certainly do. Nation-state actors, ransomware gangs, and supply chain threat actors are increasingly targeting device-level code.

In fact, 61% of companies have been impacted by a software supply chain attack in the last 12 months. 

If you’re not analyzing what’s inside the software that powers your device ecosystem, you’re missing a foundational layer of risk. Binary analysis extends your visibility into that device-level layer, bringing firmware into scope for risk management and vulnerability remediation.

This is especially important for:

• Device manufacturers and OEMs
• Critical infrastructure providers
• Healthcare organizations
• Anyone subject to strict third-party risk requirements

Even if you don’t control the source code, you can still understand and reduce your risk.

Improve Your Third-Party Risk Posture

Supply chain risk isn’t just about who made the code—it’s about what’s in it. Traditional supplier attestations and SBOMs are useful, but they’re often incomplete or outdated. Binary analysis offers an independent, objective view into what’s really inside the software you ship, buy, or run.

This capability helps you:

• Validate supplier claims
• Discover risky components early
• Document your due diligence for regulators and auditors

Whether you’re pursuing ISO 27001 compliance or following NIST’s Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF), this level of insight strengthens your security posture.

Improve Vulnerability Management with Greater Firmware Visibility

Vulnerability management programs are only as good as their visibility allows. Go further with binary analysis and:

• Detect vulnerabilities in compiled code
• Prioritize based on severity and known exploits
• Integrate firmware into your triage and remediation workflows

By treating device-level code as a first-class citizen in your vulnerability management program, you ensure that no part of your software supply chain is out of scope.

Improve Vulnerability Management with Greater Firmware Visibility

Vulnerability management programs are only as good as their visibility allows. Go further with binary analysis and:

• Detect vulnerabilities in compiled code
• Prioritize based on severity and known exploits
• Integrate firmware into your triage and remediation workflows

By treating device-level code as a first-class citizen in your vulnerability management program, you ensure that no part of your software supply chain is out of scope.

Improve Vulnerability Management with Greater Firmware Visibility

• SCA is valuable but leaves gaps that attackers can exploit.
• Binary analysis gives you a full picture, even when you don’t have the source code.
• Firmware and binaries are part of your software supply chain. Don’t overlook them.
• Visibility is foundational to secure design, compliance, and effective vulnerability management.

NetRise helps you see what others miss so you can secure what matters most.

Book a demo of the NetRise platform today.