Manufacturing companies increasingly utilize technology that connects operational devices to business networks for improved performance. Unfortunately, this can also increase attack surfaces.
Data breaches can expose sensitive information and valuable intellectual property. Ransom ware attacks can cripple operations and cause significant financial damage.
Manufacturers that prioritize cyber security can protect their revenue and reputation. Here are four reasons why.
Security of Intellectual Property
A manufacturer’s intellectual property is a prime target for cybercriminals. Whereas it takes great sophistication to breach the robust firewalls and multiple security protocols of businesses that handle large amounts of sensitive data, breaking into many manufacturing systems requires far less effort. Consequently, criminals can easily score lucrative paydays by selling stolen product plans to companies producing illegitimate imitations.
To avoid this, manufacturers must limit the disclosure of their vulnerable IP to a small group of employees and utilize non-disclosure agreements and other measures to keep these secrets safe. They should also avoid relying on just one supplier for critical components or technology. Instead, key components should be sourced from cybersecurity resources for manufacturers to minimize the risk of a cyber-attack on a single company or supply chain.
In addition, manufacturers must use new technologies like robotic process automation and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to improve productivity, flexibility, awareness and efficiency. However, these advances create massive attack surfaces that must be defended with comprehensive cyber security tools.
Reliability
Cyber-attack risks increase as manufacturing plants rely increasingly on connected systems to run production lines. These attacks can cause business disruptions, intellectual property theft or loss of customer trust. To mitigate these risks, manufacturers must prioritize cyber security. By understanding the most common threats and how to protect against them, plant operations staff can improve their company’s security effectiveness.
The reliability of a product, system or measurement refers to its ability to continue functioning under a given set of conditions for a specified period without failure. It differs from availability, which refers to how quickly the system can be turned on and off and how often it can operate for a planned time.
In psychology, psychometrics and statistics, the reliability of a measure refers to how well it produces consistent results under certain conditions. The credibility of research needs to consider both reliability and validity, which involve the likelihood that an experiment or test will have the same results each time it is performed and the degree to which a study measures what it claims it does.
Modern manufacturing relies on state-of-the-art automation, artificial intelligence and hyper-connected network comms. This makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals. To thrive, the industry must ensure its critical sites; locations and supply chains are always on. This is best achieved with secure SD-WAN, but these networks need powerful cyber security solutions to be reliable enough for the demanding manufacturing environment.
Reputation
As manufacturers leverage state-of-the-art automation, AI, and hyper-connected network comms, they become high-value targets for cybercriminals. Attackers are usually motivated by money (92%), but industrial espionage is also a factor (6%). These attacks can negatively impact manufacturing companies in terms of lost revenue, damaged intellectual property, regulatory fines/penalties, slowed production and loss of customer trust.
Manufacturers must comply with numerous regulations and standards, including data protection, supply chain security and endpoint protection. A Secure SD-WAN augmented with zero trust technologies helps manufacturers meet these compliance requirements and future-proof their business against security threats.
Various resources are available to help manufacturers understand their business’s risks and threats and develop an effective risk management strategy. These include the NIST Cyber security Framework Mapping Tool, the FCC Cyber-Planner and the SMB Cyber security Guide for Small Businesses.
Many manufacturers strongly desire to adopt new technology to increase efficiency and improve their bottom line. However, they are often held back by concerns over cyber security. Developing a robust, holistic cyber security program can mitigate these concerns and enable manufacturers to realize the benefits of new technology. Manufacturers can successfully transition to a digital business by partnering with the right partner.
Cost
Manufacturing companies operate their businesses using people, information, and technologies. Defending those assets from disclosure, disruption, or harm is challenging and important. With limited resources and competing priorities, they need guidance and practical and cost-effective solutions that limit risk and harm.
Manufacturers must invest in prevention, detection and response solutions to protect their intellectual property and operations from cyber-attacks. Prevention solutions reduce risk by detecting an attack before it occurs. Detection solutions are designed to identify an attack that has already happened and include intrusion detection systems, honeypots, and file integrity monitoring. Response solutions help a company recover from an attack and return to normal operations.
Unlike legacy manufacturing practices where air-gapped equipment provided a modicum of security protection, smart factory automation often requires greater network connectivity to operational technology (OT) systems. This can open up new vulnerabilities that must be addressed.
In addition to protecting against traditional attacks, manufacturers must also be mindful of threats in their supply chains. A cyber-attack on one company can result in a chain reaction that affects many others.
Many small- and medium-sized manufacturers need help with implementing their cyber security plans. They may need more staff and resources to address cyber-attacks or think they need more exposure to justify a costly investment in prevention, detection or recovery. For these reasons, local MEP centers offer a range of free and low-cost resources for critical manufacturers that can help them build their defenses.
