Cyberattacks in manufacturing on the rise

While advanced technologies are helping manufacturers stay competitive and meet consumer demand, they are also keeping the industry vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to the World Economic Forum. In a recent report, the organization says manufacturing “is the most targeted sector for cyberattacks” for two years running.  The organization is convening a multi-stakeholder community to strengthen cyber resilience across the whole manufacturing ecosystem.

“The resulting risks are systemic, contagious and often beyond the understanding or control of any single entity,” the organization notes.

The World Economic Forum cites that the five main threats impacting the manufacturing sector are: phishing attacks, ransomware, intellectual property, supply chain attacks, and industrial IoT attacks.

The organization is convening stakeholders from the manufacturing ecosystem to “strengthen cyber resilience across the industrial manufacturing."

This new initiative is guided by five pillars:

• Develop a cybersecurity culture from the shop floor to the C-suite.
• Adopt a risk-based approach to identify, protect, and monitor critical assets.
• Plan an incident management process.
• Harden the assets and the industrial control system environment.
• Manage ecosystem risks.

Read the entire World Economic Forum article here.