Guest blog courtesy of CYRISMA.
The manufacturing sector has experienced an increasing number of cyber attacks over the past few years because of the growing interconnectedness between IT and operational technology (OT).
Organizations in the sector have traditionally prioritized operational speed and efficiency over cyber risk management – something that may not have created huge security issues at a time when there was a clear separation between OT and IT. However, with more manufacturing technology (often older and less secure than IT) and processes exposed to the internet, it’s getting harder for manufacturers to secure their operations and data against attacks. Businesses’ increasing dependence on third parties for monitoring and maintenance further exacerbates the problem, with remote access requirements introducing more security gaps into their IT environments.
The manufacturing sector now accounts for 25.7 percent of cyber attacks, with ransomware involved in 71 percent of these incidents. Research also suggests that attacks on the sector are growing at the rate of 125 percent each year.
Cybersecurity challenges for manufacturers:
- Growing IT-OT convergence –…
