Prevalent technology underpins the manufacturing industry in the form of operational technology (OT), Internet of Things (IoT) and industrial control systems. The increased reliance on modern technology assists in boosting productivity and innovating. However, the cyber-attack surface expands to an extent.
Motivation for attacking manufacturing industrial control systems varies. Specifically, stealing intellectual property, data and disrupting a production cycle. For instance, an hour of downtime impacts the revenue of an enterprise; the disruption caused acts as an incentive for cybercriminals.
A widespread attack in the manufacturing industry correlates to ransomware. As a result, the backlash from a ransomware has negative connotations for the company involved. A delayed production cycle leads to loss of revenue and reputational damage.
The loss of intellectual property subsides as a benefit for nation-state actors in the form of leaked trade secrets to strategic and economic benefits. For this reason, in a cyber espionage attack, a lengthy period of covert data extraction from a network remains difficult to detect.
For the manufacturing industry, attacks on their supply chain systems constitute another threat. In a supply-chain attack adversaries target third-party suppliers and partners to breach a manufacturer’s system. Given that, most manufacturers rely on an array of suppliers; if one supplier experiences a breach, the production line suffers the repercussions.
The interrelation of manufacturing systems has grown the industry attack-surface. Considering that in manufacturing, the use of computer systems combined with IoT and OT has caused an overlap between IT and operational technology. The mix of IT and OT enables attackers to infiltrate systems easier and cause extensive disturbance.
How can the manufacturing industry prevent cyber-attacks?
1. Disaster recovery planning and backing up data – An essential part of thwarting ransomware attacks successfully relies on having frequent backups. Moreover, regular execution of disaster recovery plans prevents ransomware attacks. In addition, encrypt the storage of all backups maintaining authorisation, authentication and integrity to prevent access and manipulation of data.
2. Ensure timely updates for all IoT Devices and firmware – IoT devices considered weak points for the manufacturing industry as some may still be operating with default passwords or lack of security features. Moreover, regularly update firmware and ensure adequate monitoring of IoT devices.
3. Implement security policies – All manufacturing operations should be underpinned by strong cyber security practices. As part of a cyber security strategy, develop incident response plans, conduct security audits and enforce strict access controls. Furthermore, develop employee cyber security training programs.
4. Segment networks – Limit the spread of potential cyber-attacks by segmenting IT and OT networks. Separated networks create barriers between systems stopping cybercriminals from moving laterally through the network.
5. Invest in real-time monitoring – Real-time monitoring tools play a critical role for finding and evading cyber threats.
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