Protect yourselves! Manufacturing is the main target of cyberattacks for the third time

Related Vendor

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

Germany's economy is primarily based on an efficient manufacturing landscape. According to Graylog, this makes it important to protect it from cyber attacks.

Manufacturing is a multi-faceted industry in Germany that spans all sectors. From the automotive and electronics industries to mechanical engineering, aerospace, consumer goods manufacturing, crafts and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, manufacturing is the backbone of society, so to speak. This has also been recognized by the experts at Graylog, a company that takes care of cyber security (SIEM logistics management and API systems) and smooth IT operations. However, the critical importance of manufacturing has also made this sector a top target for cyber criminals. IBM's X-Force Threat Intelligence Report highlights that over 25 percent of security incidents occur in the manufacturing industry, making it the main victim for the third year in a row.

Using cyber security to increase efficiency

Manufacturers are under pressure from all sides. Rising demand is driving digitization initiatives. At the same time, the risk of attacks has increased to such an extent that supervisory authorities are urging manufacturers to adopt higher standards. The EU's new CRA law, which is particularly aimed at those manufacturers that produce devices for the Internet of Things (IoT), can result in a potential multi-million euro burden to comply with the requirements, according to Graylog. To gain a competitive advantage, manufacturers need to change their approach to cybersecurity and use it to increase their efficiency. There needs to be a balance between IoT growth and cybersecurity in the context of 'smart' manufacturing. As manufacturing becomes smarter, companies are generating more data than ever before. Statista predicts that the global data volume will increase to 284 zettabytes by 2027. And the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will play a key role in this growth.

Third-party providers are the gateways for cyber crooks

Sensors, devices, servers and endpoints for tracking, management and control are used to distribute this data for bidirectional communication. However, as connectivity increases, so does the risk of falling victim to a cyberattack. The operational technologies that connect the IoT ecosystem to improve supply chain management are also potential vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals to compromise security, operations, equipment, productivity and, not least, budgets. Attackers are targeting software, cloud or other third-party providers to penetrate manufacturing supply chains. For example, a successful attack on a single third-party company can give hackers access to the personal data of multiple manufacturing customers. For example, a Make UK report found that providing monitoring and maintenance access to third parties is the third most common reason for a cyber incident.