Cybersecurity: The Biggest Threat To Manufacturing Business

Manufacturing is undoubtedly a risky job be it in terms of industry regulation, labor, or finances. Nevertheless, the growing dependence of makers on automation and increasing influence of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) have turned cybersecurity into the biggest risk factors to manufacturing business. As per the latest report from BDO, approx. 92 per cent of manufacturers believe cybersecurity to be one of their biggest concerns. It is an increment of 44 per cent from the first report published in year 2013. The report undertook ten thousand cases that were filed by 100 large sized public trading US manufacturing companies.

Apart from cybersecurity, the report includes state and local regulations, federal rules, underfunded pensions, increasing competition, and labor concerns in the list of threats. As per Shahryar Shaghaghi, the national leader at Technology Advisory Services and Supreme Head of International BDO Cybersecurity, “All it takes is one weak link in the security chain for hackers to access and corrupt a product feature, an entire supply chain or a critical piece of infrastructure. The stakes are too high in the manufacturing industry for complacency or inattention. Security can no longer be considered an add-on to products and processes. It must be built in from design to distribution, and monitored with a high level of priority.”

As per IBM, in year 2015, manufacturing sector was the second most targeted sector by hackers. While there were many reports of high-profile attacks on healthcare, financial, and retail sectors, the biggest highlights were grabbed by regular attacks on products and intellectual properties by cyber criminals. It is one of the prime reasons why cybersecurity has turned into one of the biggest issues for manufacturers. While there are so many makers who are concerned about cyber security, there are only one or two percent who are confident they can face all threats and save their business from them. Since, manufacturers are developing more and more products and entities, increased amount of data and network entry points are made every day. In order to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals, manufacturers need have a solid approach towards operating technology and information technology risks.

More and more organizations in this field are now facing problems related to product performance and liabilities that can lead to breach in systems, equipment failure, and vendor issues. Around 84 per cent of manufacturers registered contamination, product quality, and recalls this year. Almost all manufacturers in the industry speak of high competitive pressures that has spurred numerous business challenges to their business.