INDustry: Why Manufacturers Should Care About Cybersecurity

Nels Jensen is part of our INDUSTRIAL team on a fact-finding mission to surface the technologies and trends impacting manufacturers and to share what we discover along the way.

Cybersecurity is a bit like personal hygiene. We know, we’re supposed to wash our hands. Thoroughly and frequently. But sometimes it takes real life examples as reminders.

If you didn’t know already, Honda was recently hacked, but not in the usual manner of stealing personal data. According to IndustryWeek, Honda was forced to temporarily shut down global operations due to a ransomware attack at its headquarters.

The lesson for manufacturers was that the attack put Honda’s connected operational technology at risk – including their factory equipment.

Think only big companies like Honda are at risk? Think again: 43% of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses; Accenture says only 14% of whom are prepared to defend themselves.

Small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) are prime cyber targets, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, because many do not have adequate preventative measures in place. Manufacturing is the second most targeted industry.

So what can SMMs and small businesses do? Start with this assessment tool from the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cyber Security Framework.

The framework outlines five steps to reduce cyber risks:

• Identify
• Protect
• Detect
• Respond
• Recover

Be cyber safe out there. And remember to wash your hands, thoroughly and frequently.