The manufacturing industry is undoubtedly a prime target for cyberattacks due to the complex web of supply chains that links companies and suppliers together. According to new research by cybersecurity firm Dragos, an astounding 72% of all ransomware attacks targeted manufacturing in 2022. This represented an 87% increase in overall industrial sector-targeted ransomware attacks from 2021 to 2022. With pandemic-induced supply chain distribution subsiding, the manufacturing industry has a new challenge on its hands, in the form of more frequent and pervasive cybersecurity breaches.
To mitigate these threats, the overwhelming majority of large companies conduct extensive due diligence procedures on suppliers and vendors before they are selected to provide or produce materials, components, services or software. In addition to this, almost every large company’s due diligence process contains an information technology (IT) security diligence section. This is a great start but falls short of a robust, risk-mitigating cybersecurity strategy.
