Manufacturing cybersecurity is becoming a top trend for industry due to an uptick in cyberattacks that are threating companies’ industrial operations. According to the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute, the manufacturing sector has had the most cyberattacks of any industry for the past two years, accounting for 72% of ransomware attacks.
This information highlights the need for manufacturing facilities to invest in robust cybersecurity measures. To effectively combat cyberattacks on industrial operations, manufacturers must stress how important cybersecurity is to every level of the business.
Learn more about manufacturing cybersecurity and the changes companies must make to protect their operations from cyberattack.
What Is Manufacturing Cybersecurity?
Any strategies or solutions manufactures implement to safeguard their technologies and infrastructure against cyberattacks are the basis of manufacturing cybersecurity. These measures are needed due to the integration of industry 4.0 technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), sensors, and automation into manufacturing production.
With the manufacturing industry steadily advancing, these new smart technologies are becoming commonplace within large industrial facilities. As manufacturers implement more of this tech, they are building out their information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) infrastructure.
Having several advanced manufacturing technologies connected to this infrastructure increases exposure to cyberthreats, driving an increased need for cybersecurity in manufacturing facilities. This has led manufacturers to pursue more robust cybersecurity measures for their industrial operations.
Targeting the Manufacturing Industry
Manufacturers aren’t just implementing cybersecurity measures because of their expanded infrastructure, but also to combat increased cyberattacks on the industry. Bad actors are increasingly launching cyberattacks on manufacturing operations, causing the industry to see unprecedented levels of cybercrime.
The high intensity of cyberthreats to the manufacturing sector is happening for a few reasons. For one, manufacturing is a foundational industry to the economy, making it a target for cybercriminals looking to do the most damage with attacks. Plus, the size and diversity of the industrial sector present a large attack surface for bad actors. Critical manufacturing industries in particular are a prime target for attackers targeting a country’s infrastructure.
Not only can bad actors do a lot of damage by attacking manufacturing companies — they’ve also found manufacturers to be easy targets. With the increasing adoption of smart technologies and the growth of digital industrial operations, manufacturers have not been able to maintain effective cybersecurity practices to protect their expanded infrastructure.
The cost of these cyberattacks for manufacturers is exorbitant. A 2024 report from IBM entitled Cost of a Data Breach states that $5.56 million is the average total cost of a data breach in the industrial sector. The report goes on to highlight that this amount is an 18% increase for the manufacturing industry compared to the 2023 cost.
Downtime in manufacturing is incredibly costly, and these cyberattacks force manufacturers to halt some or all of their industrial operations. In addition to the high cost of a data breach, it also takes manufacturers a significant amount of time to contain. On average, it takes manufacturers 199 days to realize a data breach happened and from that point it takes 73 days to contain it.
Unfortunately, manufacturers are vulnerable to several different types of cyberattacks, including ransomware attacks, intellectual property theft, and supply chain disruptions due to cyberthreats. The high losses associated with industrial cybersecurity breaches are showing the manufacturing industry that it must have more protection in place to combat cybercriminals.
Protecting Industrial Operations
Though bad actors are increasingly targeting the industry, there are some basic steps manufacturers can take to improve their cybersecurity measures. The first step requires doing a deep dive into current cybersecurity policies and practices to get a full understanding of the measures already being taken to protect operations.
After getting a clear picture of these cybersecurity measures, the next step is to identify vulnerabilities. Taking a proactive approach to patching vulnerabilities helps ensure the facilities’ data and systems are effectively protected against cyberattacks.
Once cybersecurity policies have been updated and vulnerabilities patched, manufacturers must continue to be proactive to effectively protect their industrial operations. To this end, there are a few other strategies manufacturers can implement.
Manufacturers should move forward from their cybersecurity audit and set more stringent standards. This ensures that the holes that were just patched won’t reopen and that new vulnerabilities will not arise, even as IT and OT infrastructure continues to get built out.
These standards should include strict access controls, regular updates to connected devices and firmware, segmented networks that create barriers between systems, and secure data backups. Manufacturers need to set themselves up for success by implementing these robust cybersecurity protections for their industrial operations.
Along with setting higher standards for manufacturing cybersecurity policies, companies also need to ensure follow-through with their employees. Effective cybersecurity practices require every level of an organization to be on board with following these procedures and staying vigilant for cyberthreats. So, employees must be trained to understand and follow the cybersecurity regulations put in place in order for these new standards to work.
Once a secure cybersecurity framework is established, manufacturers must continue to conduct regular audits to assess how secure their operations are, implement continuous cybersecurity training for employees, and have a detailed plan for responding to cybersecurity incidents. Implementing effective cybersecurity measures isn’t a one-and-done process, manufacturers have to stay up-to-date with cybersecurity best practices to ensure they are maintaining secure industrial operations.
Embracing Manufacturing Cybersecurity
As manufacturing facilities become more interconnected and rely on digital technologies, they are opening themselves up to more cyberthreats. When a manufacturing company becomes a victim of a cyberattack, it faces mounting financial losses, negative associations with its reputation, and a significant impact to production operations.
Industry 4.0 technologies offer manufacturing companies a lot of benefits, but these innovations do make industrial operations more susceptible to cyberattacks. This is why manufacturing cybersecurity measures are so necessary for an advancing industrial sector.
If you’re a manufacturer looking to improve your cybersecurity policies and protect your operations, you can connect with knowledgeable cybersecurity experts at the Smart Manufacturing Experience. Learn more about this innovative manufacturing event and explore why you should attend.