Socket is a security company founded in 2021 that provides a developer-first platform for protecting organizations against software supply chain attacks. Its product detects and blocks malicious open source packages in real time, a problem the company frames against the estimate that more than 90% of modern codebases now consist of open source. Socket reports that its platform identifies over 100 zero-day attacks every week.
The technical work centres on deep package inspection: rather than relying on known vulnerability lists, the system analyses the actual behaviour of dependencies to surface threats as they appear. Areas of activity include malicious package detection, behavioral analysis of dependencies, typo-squatting detection, malware detection, hidden code detection and permission creep detection, together with real-time threat blocking across the open source ecosystem.
The platform is designed to operate without slowing development, embedding into existing developer workflows rather than interrupting them. Socket's stated approach is proactive rather than reactive: identifying risky packages before they are installed rather than remedying compromise afterwards. The company's customers and use cases span the technology, media, healthcare and finance industries.
