In this article, Kaspersky researchers explore how the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — the new “plug-in bus” for AI assistants — can be weaponized as a supply chain foothold.
The researchers start with a primer on MCP, map out protocol-level and supply chain attack paths, then walk through a hands-on proof of concept: a seemingly legitimate MCP server that harvests sensitive data every time a developer runs a tool. Then they break down the source code to reveal the server’s true intent and provide a set of mitigations for defenders to spot and stop similar threats.
Read more…
Source: Kaspersky
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