SCA in Security: Meaning, Uses, and Best Practices

In the field of security, SCA is an acronym that can refer to several important concepts. The two most common meanings are Strong Customer Authentication and Software Composition Analysis. Each of these plays a distinct role in reducing risk, protecting users, and strengthening software supply chains. When organizations talk about SCA, they are often addressing different parts of the security stack—from how users prove their identity to how developers manage open-source components. This article explains what SCA stands for in security, how each meaning works, and how to implement best practices without slowing down operations.

What SCA Stands For in Security

The term SCA is used in more than one security domain. Broadly speaking, it refers to methods and tools that help control access, verify identities, and secure software products. The two most prominent interpretations are:

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) — a concept that applies to online payments and digital access, emphasizing multi-factor verification and risk-based challenges to reduce fraud.
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) — a practice and set of tools that scan software for open-source components, vulnerabilities, licensing issues, and outdated dependencies.

While these two meanings share an acronym, they address different layers of security. Understanding both helps organizations design safer experiences for customers and safer software for users and operators.

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)

Strong Customer Authentication is a security framework that aims to ensure that the person initiating a transaction or accessing a service is who they claim to be. It is most closely associated with payment regulation, especially the PSD2 directive in the European Union, but its principles are increasingly adopted worldwide as part of broader risk management.

Core principles of Strong Customer Authentication

Two or more factors — authentication should combine at least two of the following: something the user knows (password, PIN), something the user has (a smartphone, hardware token), or something the user is (biometrics).
— authentication requirements can adapt based on the risk profile of the transaction, device, location, and behavior.
Fraud reduction — the goal is to make fraud harder while keeping legitimate customers smooth and accessible.
Transparent user experience — while the security is strong, the user journey should remain clear and minimally disruptive when possible.

Practical implications for businesses

Implementing SCA means rethinking login flows, payment authorizations, and access controls. For merchants and payment providers, this often involves integrating with authentication frameworks, using challenge prompts, and maintaining a balance between security and conversion rates. For IT teams, SCA translates into adopting multi-factor authentication (MFA), risk-based authentication, and secure authentication protocols such as FIDO2/WebAuthn. In practice, SCA helps reduce chargebacks, protect customer data, and improve trust with users who expect stronger protections.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Software Composition Analysis focuses on the software you ship, particularly the open-source components, libraries, and dependencies that power modern applications. SCA tools scan codebases, binaries, container images, and build artifacts to identify known vulnerabilities, license risks, and outdated components that could introduce security or compliance problems.

Why Software Composition Analysis matters

Vulnerability discovery — open-source components can contain known security flaws; SCA helps you triage and remediate them quickly.
License compliance — SCA highlights licensing conflicts that could expose you to legal risk or require disclosure of source code.
Supply chain transparency — understanding which components are in your product improves governance and risk management.
Remediation efficiency — with an up-to-date bill of materials (SBOM), teams can prioritize fixes and track remediation progress.

Best practices for Software Composition Analysis

Integrate early — run SCA in the early stages of development and continue it through CI/CD to catch issues before release.
Automate SBOM generation — maintain a live inventory of all components and their licenses so audits are smoother.
Dependency management — set policies to flag critical vulnerabilities and deprecated components, and establish a process for timely upgrades.
Policy-driven remediation — define clear acceptance criteria for risks and automate ticketing or remediation workflows.
Vendor and component risk review — assess third-party maintainers and provenance to reduce supply chain risk.

How SCA Practices Complement Each Other

While Strong Customer Authentication and Software Composition Analysis address different layers of security, they share a common goal: reducing risk without harming user experience. A robust security program often combines both interpretations of SCA:

Use SCA-driven checks to restrict access and add friction where it matters, while maintaining customer convenience with adaptive authentication.
Apply Software Composition Analysis to keep software components trustworthy, so that authentication systems and access controls aren’t undermined by vulnerable dependencies.
Foster a culture of security by integrating SCA insights into product design, incident response, and compliance programs.

Implementing SCA in Practice

To realize the benefits of SCA, organizations can take concrete steps across people, processes, and technology.

Adopt a multi-factor strategy that fits your user base, such as a combination of something the user knows and something they possess.
Implement risk-based authentication (RBA) to require additional verification only when a transaction or login appears risky.
Leverage standards like FIDO2/WebAuthn to support passwordless or hardware-backed authentication where possible.
Ensure accessibility and privacy considerations are baked into the authentication flow so it remains user-friendly.

Choose a scalable SCA tool that covers your tech stack, including containers and serverless components.
Automate SBOM generation and integrate SCA results into your security dashboards and release gates.
Prioritize remediation for high-severity vulnerabilities and ensure license obligations are met before shipping.
Establish ongoing monitoring to detect newly disclosed vulnerabilities in components after deployment.

Challenges and Common Myths

As with any security initiative, there are myths and real-world hurdles surrounding SCA. Common misconceptions include the view that SCA is a silver bullet for all security problems, or that adding SCA always slows down development. In reality, SCA is most effective when integrated into a well-designed security program with automation, governance, and measurable outcomes. Another challenge is balancing security with user experience in Strong Customer Authentication, especially in regions with strict regulations and diverse user devices. By choosing adaptive methods and investing in user-centered design, organizations can achieve security gains without sacrificing usability.

Future Trends in SCA

Both interpretations of SCA are evolving. In Strong Customer Authentication, regulators are refining risk-based strategies and encouraging interoperability across payment networks, with a focus on frictionless authentication for trusted users. In Software Composition Analysis, the landscape is moving toward more dynamic vulnerability databases, better license risk models, and closer integration with software bill of materials (SBOM) standards. Expect tighter coupling between SCA insights and operational dashboards, faster remediation cycles, and deeper automation in both identity and software supply-chain security.

Conclusion

Understanding what SCA means in security helps leadership, security teams, and developers align on priorities: protect customers without breaking their flow, and safeguard software from the open-source components that power it. By embracing Strong Customer Authentication as a thoughtful, user-friendly control and Software Composition Analysis as a proactive, ongoing practice, organizations can reduce risk across the entire lifecycle of digital products. The SCA concepts—when implemented with care, governance, and automation—contribute to a more secure, trustworthy technology environment for everyone involved.