As manufacturers embrace digitalisation they become increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks – writes Paul Gaynor.
Digitalisation is no longer optional for manufacturers, but crucial to their long-term survival. New hyper-connected systems enhance efficiency and operational visibility, not just within companies, but throughout entire manufacturing supply chains. But as manufacturers’ digital footprint grows, so does the complexity of their systems, which typically contain a mix of cutting edge and legacy technologies. As a result, companies in this industry are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Take the cyberattack on global aluminium manufacturer Norsk Hydro as an example. Due to a severe cyberattack that implicated the LockerGoga ransomware, it had to close a significant number of its facilities and even halt additional operations. The effects of this ransomware attack resulted in financial losses amounting to 75 million dollars.
So, it’s no surprise that nearly half (48%) of manufacturers view cybersecurity as a potential operational risk. In fact, the real question is why this figure isn’t higher.
It is now imperative for manufacturing firms to prioritise cybersecurity and focus on implementing practical strategies to mitigate the risks stemming from cyber attackers as well as human error. Such risks could lead to operational standstills, business losses, and harm to the company's reputation.
A bird’s eye view of your network
Contemporary manufacturing setups are both complex and intricate. As networks grow and develop, it can be easy to lose track of all assets, software components, connections, and protocols. To guarantee security resilience, manufacturers should start by creating a detailed environment map that encompasses all these datapoints.
By mapping out the network, it becomes easier to identify vulnerabilities or hidden access points. Automated network monitoring can also help detect unusual or suspicious activities while keeping vital operations safe and sound.
This holds particular significance for larger manufacturers, for whom having a global view and detail of their OT assets, as well as the correlated risk level across multiple sites, is non-negotiable.
Stategising security
Once visibility has been established, manufacturers should carry out a risk evaluation aimed at appraising their current security stance. This highlighting of vulnerabilities, evaluating cyber incident consequences should a breach occur, and identifying safety hazards linked to the network's unique function.
A risk assessment provides manufacturers a way to understand how effective their current security architecture approach is. By measuring the efficiency of their existing mitigation strategies, manufacturers can decide where to allocate precious resources wisely to further reduce residual risk. Moreover, they can uncover sites and zones that might require special attention from an architectural standpoint.
Knowledge is power
Armed with an accurate understanding of their network's vulnerabilities, manufacturers should create a pragmatic security strategy. Akin to a rulebook, this strategy should outline the defined procedure for managing a wide range of cyber-attacks. This strategy might involve increased supervision of remote access to specific systems or enhancing compensating security measures for legacy systems and technology.
When devising a cyber strategy, it’s important for manufacturers to think about budget constraints from the outset. Security decisionmakers and budget holders are always squeezed by the business and it is crucial that they start by securing the most mission-critical parts of their business, followed by addressing any low expenditure security ‘quick wins’. Meanwhile, an approach of continuously identifying and decreasing the overall business risk should always be the long-term aspiration.
Continuous monitoring
With a strategy in place, manufacturers should turn their attention to the consistent and real-time surveillance of their network. Given the ever-changing nature of the threat environment, it is imperative to monitor network operations regularly to stay abreast of assailant activities.
Although it’s impossible to prevent all breaches, continuous monitoring goes a long way to helping security teams swiftly spot attackers and mitigate threats before they materialise.
What next?
The manufacturing industry's rapid march towards digitisation through Industry 4.0 has ushered in both newfound efficiencies and heightened vulnerabilities. As cyber threats escalate, it’s clear that manufacturers need to start taking their digital security seriously. Through the strategic steps of mapping, assessing, strategising, and monitoring, they can proactively safeguard their operations and reputation, ultimately ensuring a secure digital future for the industry.
Paul Gaynor is a Senior OT Security Consultant at Radiflow