10 FBI Backed Actions Manufacturers Should Take to Strengthen Cyber Resilience
Cyberattacks against manufacturers continue to rise, and adversaries are getting faster, stealthier, and more destructive. The FBI’s Operation Winter SHIELD outlines ten high‑impact actions every organization should take to harden defenses and improve cyber resilience against modern intrusions. These recommendations are built from real investigations and reflect the tactics attackers are using right now.
Manufacturers, especially those with aging OT systems, complex supply chains, and limited security staffing, benefit enormously from adopting these practices.
Adopt Phish‑Resistant Authentication
Stolen passwords remain one of the most common entry points for attackers. The FBI recommends moving to phish‑resistant authentication such as FIDO2 security keys or device‑bound passkeys. High‑impact accounts, administrators, executives, and remote access users, should be prioritized. SMS‑based MFA and legacy authentication should be eliminated because they are easily bypassed by modern phishing kits.
Implement Risk‑Based Vulnerability Management
Attackers routinely exploit known vulnerabilities that organizations simply have not patched. A strong program requires a complete asset inventory, clear ownership, and remediation timelines based on risk, not convenience. Critical systems should be patched in days, not months. Authenticated internal scans help ensure you are seeing real configurations, not assumptions.
Retire End‑of‑Life Technology
End‑of‑life systems no longer receive security updates and are prime targets for exploitation. The FBI advises maintaining a rolling 12‑month EOL forecast, tracking owners, and enforcing firm decommission dates. If replacement is delayed, compensating controls must be applied to reduce exposure.
Manage Third‑Party Risk
Your cybersecurity is only as strong as the least‑protected vendor with access to your network or data. Manufacturers often overlook suppliers, contractors, and service providers. The FBI recommends maintaining a single list of all third parties with access, enforcing least‑privilege controls, auditing unused accounts, and requiring contractual commitments for breach notification and encryption.
Protect and Preserve Security Logs
Logs are essential for detection, response, and forensic investigation, but attackers often try to erase them. Organizations should centralize logs across authentication, email, endpoints, networks, DNS, cloud, and remote access systems, then export them daily to protected, immutable storage. A 12‑month retention period is a common baseline. Quarterly log‑review exercises help identify gaps.
Maintain Offline, Immutable Backups
Ransomware groups now target backups early in an intrusion. The FBI stresses the importance of the 3‑2‑1 rule: three copies of critical data, two media types, one offline and immutable. Backup platforms should use strong authentication and separate admin accounts. Regular restoration testing is critical to ensure recovery time objectives can be met.
Identify and Protect Internet‑Facing Systems
Unnecessary exposure creates easy entry points. Manufacturers should maintain a concise inventory of all internet‑reachable systems, remove anything not required, and enforce authenticated gateways for what remains. Direct internet‑facing RDP should be disabled entirely. Regular scanning of public IP space helps detect accidental exposures.
Strengthen Email Authentication and Content Filtering
Email remains the top initial access vector. The FBI recommends enforcing DMARC, SPF, and DKIM across all sending domains and progressing DMARC policies from monitoring to reject. High‑risk attachments should be quarantined, macros blocked, and suspicious files sandboxed. Time‑of‑click link protection and restrictions on automatic forwarding further reduce risk.
Reduce Administrator Privileges
Excessive admin access accelerates attacker escalation. Organizations should minimize the number of admin accounts, enforce just‑in‑time access, restrict where admin credentials can be used, and remove local admin rights from user devices. Alerts should be configured for privilege changes and new admin accounts.
Exercise the Incident Response Plan
A plan that is not practiced will not work under pressure. The FBI recommends concise playbooks, clear decision authority, and quarterly 60‑minute tabletop exercises involving technical teams, legal, communications, operations, and leadership. Including law enforcement contacts, such as your local FBI field office, ensures rapid coordination when it matters most.
How 2W Tech Helps Manufacturers Put These Controls into Action
Manufacturers often struggle to operationalize these recommendations because of limited staff, legacy systems, and complex IT/OT environments. 2W Tech helps close those gaps with a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity resilience, modern identity and MFA deployment, vulnerability, and patching programs, EOL remediation, third‑party risk governance, SIEM and log centralization, backup hardening, and incident response planning. Our team aligns FBI‑backed best practices with the realities of manufacturing operations, giving organizations a practical, achievable path to stronger cyber defense.
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