The manufacturing sector was the top OT-related industry to be attacked, according to IBM’s 2023 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index report, accounting for more than 50% of all attacks against OT organisations globally. Meanwhile, the Security Navigator 2024 report found ransomware attacks carried out against manufacturers were up 42% in 2023, compared to the previous year. Manufacturing was the top sector, attracting a fifth of all extortion attacks – which show no sign of slowing down in 2024.
One company doing something about this, is Logpoint, a software development company which supports businesses in a world of evolving threats.
Cybersecurity challenges in modern manufacturing
Logpoint is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has positioned itself as a European powerhouse in cyber defence, an issue which is becoming top-of-mind for manufacturers in today’s geopolitically-charged economic climate, coupled with the need to comply with NIS2. Logpoint’s Tim Wallen has been in the cybersecurity sector for decades and manages Logpoint across the UK, US and emerging markets.
“We work closely with our partners and customers, helping them monitor their networks against cyber attacks and carry out threat detection and incident response,” Wallen explains.
Interconnectivity is key to modern manufacturing, driving massive transformations and creating incredible opportunities. But Wallen says that with those advances come new challenges.
“Interconnectivity can give malicious actors a wider area to attack and broader access to mine manufacturing infrastructure for valuable information. With the Internet of Things (IoT) connecting devices not only to each other but also to the internet, keeping those threats at bay becomes an even greater challenge. In addition, networked operational technologies (OT) such as SCADA and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) also continue to be problematic to secure.”
Wallen sees supply chain attacks using ransomware as a major threat to manufacturers.
“Toyota succumbed to a ransomware attack on component supplier, Kojima, halting production, and Locker ransomware is routinely being used to target manufacturers with reports claiming the sector was singled out by China-nexus adversaries during 2022 in Northern Europe,” he says.
This post was originally published on 3rd party site mentioned in the title of this site
