Cybersecurity threats are a great deal in the manufacturing industry. After all, cybercriminals are known to cause the failure of military equipment, breach national security secrets, and cause electrical blackouts.
ZDNet is among the companies that have suffered cyber-attacks more recently. In October 2020, ZDNET, which stands as one of the top tech companies in Germany reported that ransomware, known as Clop and attacked their systems, and the cybercriminals were asking for $20 million in ransom. You would not want that to happen to your manufacturing company. Unfortunately, cybersecurity threats are real and they can affect any business. Besides, each attack comes with huge financial repercussions. Therefore, you have to adopt new strategies to protect your business systems.
To avoid cyberattacks, you must stay ahead of cybercriminals by understanding the different threats. Below are the top threats to keep in mind when formulating strategies to protect your business.
- Ransomware
This is among the most dangerous malware you should protect your manufacturing business from. Ransomware is a type of malware designed to gain access and encrypt manufacturing data. After the malware has accessed and encrypted your business data, its designers will try to extort money in exchange for the keys you need to unlock the data.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that cybercriminals will send the keys after they have received the ransom. Most of the attacks take place through emails. Here are the steps you can take to protect your business data from this type of attack.
- Focus more on staff awareness and educate your staff on identifying unsolicited emails.
- Invest in sophisticated malware protection software.
- Update the software you use in your manufacturing system regularly.
- Back up the manufacturing data always. That will help you recover the data easily if ransomware attack your systems.
- Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks pose as trustworthy contacts with the goal of accessing the business’ sensitive information. Like ransomware attacks, phishing attacks happen through emails and the cybercriminals craft them to look genuine. However, identifying them is still possible after sensitizing your staff to cybersecurity. Here are the tips you need.
- Always suspicious of any unexpected email.
- Use the good anti-malware program to protect your manufacturing business data.
- Install spam filters in every computer you use in your manufacturing facility.
- Insider Threats: Iskander Makhmudov
Apart from the external cyberattack threats, like phishing and ransomware, you should be aware of the threats that might come from inside your manufacturing business. Whether you have full-time employees in your facility or you rely on contractors, the risk of data leakage will be always high. Here are some of the steps you can take to protect your business from this threat.
- Train your employees to stay alert when working on their computers so that they can minimize careless data-related mistakes.
- Define the data that each employee can access to be sure that your employees are only accessing the data they need to complete their work effectively. For instance, define the data your customer support team requires to answer questions. Also, define the questions they can handle and the ones they should direct to the management.
- Install applications in your business computers to monitor the behavior of your workers. The applications will inform you when a worker copies data.
For the success of your manufacturing business, you have to do everything possible to protect your data. Iskander Makhmudov, the owner of copper producer UGMK, claims that planning and identifying will help you avoid possible pitfalls. Install an IT unit to deal with the above threats and develop an effective protection strategy. That way, you will reduce the worries associated with data breaches.
