Tiny termites can bring down entire structures. They don't attack from the outside. They burrow into microscopic gaps, quietly weakening the foundation until collapse becomes inevitable. That is exactly how modern supply chain cyberattacks work. Attackers rarely go after large corporations head-on. Those systems are heavily fortified. Instead, they target smaller partners — vendors, software dependencies, managed service providers — where defenses are weaker. These entry points become stepping stones into the broader ecosystem. Recent reporting on data breaches shows how silent these attacks have become. Most companies do not detect intrusions until their data appears on the dark web. On the surface, systems appear intact. Underneath, they are already compromised. According to Anastasia Tikhonova, head of APT research at Group-IB, attackers increasingly exploit trusted channels rather than direct vulnerabilities. AI tools are accelerating this shift, enabling faster detection of even minor weaknesses in open-source software. The result is a sharp rise in supply chain attacks. South Korea, with its globally competitive manufacturing and financial sectors, has become a particularly attractive target in the Asia-Pacific region, ranking fifth in the region for attack frequency. The problem is not awareness. It is economics. For small and mid-sized companies, security is still viewed as a cost center. Building multi-layered defenses is expensive. Maintaining them is even harder. Continuous monitoring requires skilled personnel that many firms simply cannot afford. Government support exists, but it is narrowly structured. Voucher programs help companies adopt security solutions, but only at the point of installation. They do not cover what matters most: updates, maintenance and long-term operation. Software without updates quickly becomes obsolete. In practice, it can turn into a vulnerability itself. Industry officials describe a familiar pattern. Companies deploy security tools when subsidies are available. Once support ends, maintenance contracts lapse. Systems remain in place but