SCA (Software Composition Analysis) and SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) are often mentioned together in discussions about software security, but they serve different functions and complement each other in a valuable way.
SCA: Software Analysis
SCA (Software Composition Analysis) involves analyzing software to identify exactly which third-party components and dependencies are used, as well as what known security risks may be associated with them.
The analysis is often based on having access to the source code, which usually happens during the development phase, but can also be done on the final product (binary file or container).
Most SCA tools today support saving the results in a standard format - an SBOM - such as SPDX or CycloneDX.
If you build your own software, for internal use or for customer use, SCA is a fundamental piece of the puzzle for meeting security and transparency requirements.
Read more about how to create an SBOM.
SBOM: Contents List for Software
An SBOM is basically a contents list for software. With it, you can analyze which components are used in the software and any security risks – regardless of whether you have access to the source code or not.
SBOM is therefore particularly useful when you:
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Work with external applications or closed components: Since SBOM does not require access to source code, you can gain insight into which components are used even when relying on third-party suppliers.
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Want to meet transparency requirements: Both internal policies and external regulations may require documenting which components are included in software.
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Need to track vulnerabilities over time: Usually, it's not just the latest version of software that's relevant to analyze from a security perspective. When a vulnerability is discovered in a component, the question often arises - How long has this vulnerability existed in our systems or with our customers?
It's usually much easier to save an SBOM for each version of your software than to continually go back and analyze source code or containers.