Trustwave

Data shows that 40 percent of manufacturing businesses have experienced a cyber-attack in the past year and 38 percent of those lost over one million dollars in damages. On top of this, while 87 percent of manufacturing companies have recovery plans set up, 37 percentof those have ignored it.

Falling victim to a cyber-attack can bring prolonged effects, forcing factory shutdowns andhalting production and supply. As manufacturing facilities adopt advanced technology to support operations with IoT connectivity across equipment, machines and assembly lines, they must consider the increased risk that comes with it,and therefore, the need for improved cybersecurity practices.

Often, security fundamentals are overlooked, which can lead to major hacks and disruptions down the line in supply chains as exemplified in the case of the JBS Manufacturing and the Colonial Pipeline hack. Disruptions of this nature have an even greater impact due to the major stresses on today’s global supply chain.

So why are manufacturers prime targets for cyber-attacks?

Cyber criminals understand that many production facilities run legacy systems that cannot have the same level of cybersecurity.In addition, manufacturing organizations previously have not had dedicated IT/cybersecurity teams.Staff do not know how to secure production systems orintegrate OT and IoT systems with IT cybersecurity, but this is becoming more critical with today’s modern cyberattacks.Many people implement IoT systems or systems with IoT built in that is not known unless IT and cyber staff are brought into the process to ensure it is integrated.

Furthermore, cyber criminals know that shutting down these manufacturing factories and plants can lead to mass panic and an increased pressure to pay ransoms. This is why attackers are going directlyto the source of heavily consumed products.

As technology advances, so do hackers’ ability to find entry points. Manufacturers must work to strengthen their cybersecurity practices to prevent future attacks with the following cyber best practices:

Keep the Cloud in Mind

Manufacturing organizations should double check the controls in place if there are cloud services in use as cloud services often allow third party integrations by default without controls. Consider whether the cloud is secured to the same standard as your on-premises systems.A simple chat tool can be added/used by a user and linked into a major application easily without heavy IT involvement. Ensure access to data in the cloud is monitored and controlled and protect your backups from deletion.Since most cloud breaches happen due to misconfigurations, maintaining strong configuration management is critical.

As the industry continues to adopt cloud, make sure proper data and security controls and procedures are in placeto support all business decisions. Securing data and users in the cloud takes planning, building, and testing of cyber strategies. Just as advancements in innovation progress, so must security.

Consider Third-Party Partners

Check on what automated connections you have tothird party partners and make sure to have a clear understanding ofwhat the integration is supposed to do, how it works, and what it is supposed to do. Limiting it to these controls and alerting when it operates outside of defined parameters is key to protecting the organization as the organization cannot solely rely on the third party for protection. The SolarWinds attack is just one example that affected over 18,000 organizations through their trusted supply chain and its customers. The more visibility into your environment, the better protected your critical assets will be.

Perform Sweeping Audits

Examine your full environment,including applications, devices and legacy systems that may be running. Acomprehensive audit should not just identify devices but also understand how and why they are connected and structured. This is especially important in segmented systemswith unprotected remote access, where users from remote locations can infiltrate your system and gain deeper access. This vulnerability can be present through inactive user accountsand their permissions, leaving manufacturing equipment and operational technologiesat risk of becoming infected. Removable media hygiene is also very important to minimize the risk of malware infecting segmented systems through compromised peripheral devices.

Connect With C-Suite

Often, manufacturing companies are not prepared to face cyberattacks head on as they do not have a dedicated cybersecurity team. Communication with and support from the C-Suite is a vital element in any organization’s cybersecurity program as you consider the level of risk and impact on the organization, customers and finances. Gathering the necessary resources to strengthen cyber practices can only be done with executive support.

Plan Ahead

Create a roadmap or guide of your environment that plans out the actions ahead, considering the vulnerabilities and risks identified. Then, continue tracking progress while measuring results to ensure you are set up for success. Frameworks such as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification and NIST Cybersecurity Framework can be helpful guides for all industries, not just government and defense.

Monitor Your Environment

Cybersecurity is an ongoing process – security professionals must monitor and maintain their environmentaround the clock, 24/7. However, this often cannot be achieved due to a lack of resources in-house. Instead, many organizationsare turning to a trusted partner, such as a managed security service provider.If your organization can take a step back and create a forward-thinking plan on these focus areas, you will be far more protected from future attacks than before.

Recently, the manufacturing industry has taken action and made progresswith the release of theRonald Reagan Institute Task Force’s report , which is aimed at revitalizing U.S manufacturing withinvestmentsin national security and technology to also boost our competitiveness. The report also addresses the cybersecurity skills gap in manufacturing by recommending that employers compete for federal education grant programs. Through this, the federal government provides financial incentives to students to earn credentialed skills offered by employers in manufacturing. This will encouragenational leaders to take action tobuild the manufacturing workforce to prevent future lags in productivity.

To build a more resilient manufacturing industry, organizations shouldmake aplan to implement and execute on these cybersecurity measures to get ahead of cybercriminals in the height of ransomware.