Cybersecurity Awareness Month – Manufacturers at Risk
We’re not sure if the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency chose the same month as Halloween for Cybersecurity Awareness Month because how flat-out frightening cyberattacks can be for a business. Even more scary, is how particularly susceptible manufactures are to cybercriminal activity.
In 2020 alone, ransomware actors demanded $17 million from a laptop maker and $34 million from a Taiwanese electronics contract company.
This month, we’ve discussed not only the ways a malicious actor can access your company’s IT infrastructure, but also how to make your employees aware of potential ransomware and phishing schemes.
With an increased digital presence, manufacturers present a larger attack surface to cybercriminals. Operational technology and information technology have melded to best utilize the Industrial Internet of Things to gain crucial insight into how the OT is functioning. However, many of the OT assets aren’t designed to stop today’s cyberthreats, especially those assets working with archaic legacy systems that use proprietary protocols to talk with one another.
There are a few ways to combat these cybersecurity threats to your manufacturing operations:
- Take inventory of all your devices and determine which assets are most important.
- Segment your network in a way that cuts down on risk – to legacy systems most of all. The segments give teams smaller sections within which they can implement network access controls along with network monitoring to defend against ransomware, phishing and other digital trends.
- Use vulnerability management to patch all your security weaknesses without taking key industrial assets offline.
Manufacturing cybersecurity requires a specialized niche to ensure your operations are protected as much as possible. That’s where 2W Tech steps in. We’re a full-service IT firm with consultants on staff who specialize in cybersecurity solutions for the manufacturing industry. Contact us today so we can help you properly defend your manufacturing operations from cyberattacks.
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