Securing IT Assets In Manufacturing Industries possess notable security risks. Even though we have endpoint security, firewalls, and corporate security rules in place, Is anything else required ?
Securing IT Assets In Manufacturing has been a significant target for cyber attacks. In fact, in 2020, it was the second-most-attacked industry, up from the ninth position the year before. While threats are one thing, 33% of manufacturing cyber security attacks were successful, with 35% resulting in operational or plant downtime.
Education and Awareness among manufacturers should be considered as a top cybersecurity priority. Understanding cyber security vulnerabilities and operation technology tools is quite needed in the current scenario to maintain the security posture. Like HR, IT, Procurement domains, Manufacturing industries should understand that running a cyber security domain is extremely essential to understand the threats, vulnerabilities, and risks and to ensure security controls are in place to defend against attacks.
Apart from the usual thinking “What would happen if my IT systems (including IoTs) are hacked?” What if I lose my confidential information or my customer information? It is also required to think “Are my systems secured? Will I lose my confidential information or my customer information? “ The initial thinking would result in securing the facility but the later would ensure in implementing layers of security to the IT systems.
Strategies Of Securing IT Assets In Manufacturing Industry
Identifying the connected devices and vulnerabilities :
Acknowledging and identifying the technologies in one’s own business, especially ones that can be remotely accessed is the critical first step in assessing the threat landscape in a manufacturing facility. For instance, large manufacturing machines which run on IoT components and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are technologies which lure cybercriminals.
The handbook and guidelines from the NIST can help manufacturing security professionals to gain better insights into the potential vulnerabilities they might face. It is essential to keep in mind that the information is accessible to both the good and bad guys. Third-party software is also useful to identify the vulnerable sectors of a facility.
Protect the threat landscape :
Manufacturers face many cyber threats on a day-to-day basis while operating their facilities. It might involve remotely launched hacks on their IoT machines or insiders introducing malicious code via USB drives.
However, to reduce the risk of being a victim of a cybercriminal there are many tools and procedures in cybersecurity which can be employed by manufacturing facilities.
- Segmentation firewalls help contain malicious activity to one network segment.
- Antivirus protection can stop known viruses from penetrating a network.
- Whitelisting applications only allows approved applications access to the network.
- Private networks can help protect a network by limiting offsite access.
In the present situation where new trends are evolving overnight, it is crucial for manufacturers to open their eyes and implement cybersecurity strategies and procedures in their facilities to protect their assets and supply chains
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