Manufacturing Firms Among the 8 Most Attacked Sectors in the World
Research has shown that manufacturing firms were among the 8 most attacked sectors in the world in 2019. They had the most reported data breaches, alongside education, public administration, financial services, and a few other sectors. In the early days of cybercrime, hackers were looking for financial data. But as technology evolves, they’re able to find value in a range of information, including intellectual property. Nowadays, there are many manufacturing firms that have cybercriminals hiding within their network – slowly gathering all this intellectual property for an extended period of time – evading detection while they’re at it.
What makes manufacturing firms an incredibly lucrative choice for hackers
Manufacturing firms are among the 8 most attacked sectors in the world for good reason. They’re a lucrative choice for hackers who want to make money on their attacks. Why? Here’s an in-depth look at the reasons behind this:
Intellectual property: Manufacturing firms not only hold banking and customer information, but they also hold a ton of intellectual property. Think about it… If a cybercriminal can steal and sell the intellectual property of a manufacturer, the competition is able to save tons of money in terms of research and development. This can be incredibly devastating to a manufacturing firm that has spent years creating new breakthroughs.
Multiple points of entry: As manufacturing firms start leveraging innovative technologies, including the internet of things, industrial automation, and other forms of connected technology, they’re at an increased risk for attacks. This is because there are multiple forms of entry into their network. Unfortunately, many manufacturing firms steer clear of investing too heavily in security protocols for fear of interrupting manufacturing systems responsible for lean production lines.
A lack of security measures: As mentioned above, manufacturing firms tend to steer clear of investing too heavily in security protocols because they don’t want to interrupt their manufacturing systems. They’re under-protected in terms of staying safe against various forms of cybercrime, such as ransomware, viruses, malware, and more. They have multiple points of entry that aren’t protected with firewalls, intrusion detection software, and other measures.
So, what can manufacturing firms do to stay safe while leveraging innovative technologies?
We certainly don’t recommend manufacturing firms slow down on leveraging innovative technologies. After all, physical production combined with big data, smart digital technology, and machine learning creates a cohesive environment that helps improve the entire product life cycle and supply chain. Rather than slow down, manufacturing firms need to ramp up their security measures.
A good IT company that specializes in serving manufacturing firms can ensure security solutions are in place without impacting manufacturing systems that are critical to success. Rea & Associates can:
- Perform an IT Network and Security Assessment to provide insight into the most impactful vulnerabilities.
- Prioritize and deploy defenses to keep entry points safe against a myriad of dangerous threats.
- Review protocols in terms of how trade secrets are stored, processed, and communicated to restrict access to confidential data.
- Train staff members on proper best practices to help them recognize and respond to threats.
- Implement and test a disaster recovery solution to protect your organization against data loss.
- Institute an automated patching process to make sure your endpoints are always up to date.
Let’s start securing your manufacturing firm against sophisticated, coordinated attacks.
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