In today's digital world, manufacturing is battling an ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats. As manufacturing systems become increasingly integrated and reliant on digital technologies, the potential for cyberattacks continues to grow exponentially. Manufacturing has been ranked the most-attacked industry by cybercriminals for the third year in a row, representing 26 percent of incidents within the top 10 most-attacked industries.
The manufacturing sector continues to be a major target for cybercriminals because it heavily relies on third-party suppliers. Supply chains are one of the biggest targets of cyberattacks – costing businesses nearly $4.4 million per incident. Because their complexity makes it incredibly difficult for organizations to detect and mitigate risks, supply chains are one of the most vulnerable parts of a company.
To better safeguard their organization from the increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks on supply chains, it’s essential for leaders to prioritize supplier risk management. AI and automation are proving to be game-changers in this regard, offering robust solutions to protect against cyber risks. By leveraging a forward-thinking, AI-powered risk strategy, manufacturers can feel confident that operations are running smoothly and that their organization (and supply chain) are protected.
Leveraging AI in Cybersecurity
Even though 65 percent of manufacturing decision-makers are confident they would know what to do in a cyber attack, an alarming 43 percent don’t even have a cybersecurity response plan in place. Proactive cybersecurity in manufacturing means anticipating and mitigating risks before they occur, rather than simply reacting to known threats. Traditional reactive methods often fail to protect organizations from the modern cyber risk landscape, leading to significant financial losses, reputational damage and operational disruptions. Therefore, it's crucial that manufacturers adopt a proactive strategy, one that involves continuously monitoring for potential risks and promptly addressing vulnerabilities to protect their operations and assets.
To achieve this kind of proactivity, organizations in the manufacturing industry need to leverage advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in their cyber risk measures. Not only have these technologies transformed the cyber risk landscape, but they have also empowered organizations to get ahead of cyber criminals by monitoring for and responding to threats in real time. AI-powered solutions can process large amounts of data and identify patterns of malicious activities, ultimately saving organizations that leverage this technology an average of $1.76 million.
Because the supply chain is so vulnerable to cyberattacks, a proactive cyber risk approach is crucial to ensure third-party suppliers and vendors don’t become entry points for cyberattacks, leading to operational disruptions, reputational harm and financial loss. Manufacturers need to have full visibility into the entire supplier ecosystem and lifecycle, and they can achieve this by leveraging AI. Traditionally, it can be challenging to properly assess the faint signals of risk within the sprawling supply chain network, but AI and automation enable organizations to better identify and manage the cyber threats impacting their suppliers.
Data breaches, which are becoming more common and sophisticated every year, usually take an average of 207 days to identify. With AI and automation, organizations can reportedly cut that time down by 108 days, which empowers them to quickly detect, respond to, and mitigate threats.
Automated incident response plans enable immediate action, guided by AI algorithms that determine the best course of action based on the nature of the threat. This automation looks to reduce response times and mitigate the damage caused by cyberattacks, empowering security, procurement, risk management, and vendor management teams to collaborate effectively on strategic risk management efforts and make risk-aware decisions.
AI enables the continuous monitoring for emerging risks among suppliers, providing real-time threat detection, incident responses, and valuable insights for improvement, to ensure that manufacturing leads are always aware of their organization’s, as well as their suppliers’, cybersecurity postures so that any security gaps can be proactively addressed.
The integration of AI and automation into cybersecurity strategies is no longer optional for the manufacturing industry—it is imperative. These advanced technologies offer powerful tools to predict, detect, and respond to cyber threats, ensuring that manufacturing operations remain secure and resilient. By leveraging AI and automation, manufacturers can protect their supply chains, safeguard critical data, and maintain the integrity of their operations in the face of evolving cyber risks.
Embracing these technologies can be a vital step toward a secure and sustainable future.
