A recent study from Omdia has found that 80% of manufacturing firms experienced a notable icnrease in overall security incidents or breaches last year, but only 45% are adequately prepared in their cybersecurity.
As part of the research, Omdia surveyed over 500 technology executives worldwide on the convergence of IT and OT in their core operations and how they managed cybersecurity challenges. The study was created in partnership with Telstra International.
The increased risk in cyber attacks can be partly attributed to Industry 4.0 – where manufacturers are using technologies such as Cloud, AI and IoT as part of their digital transformation. The convergence of IT with traditional OT can increase scale, resilience, and efficiency in operations, but it also increases the attack surface.
Manufacturers affected by a cyber attack reported a resilience or availability issue that cost individual firms between $200,000 and $2 million, taking the biggest hit when incidents affected enterprise and corporate systems or production control.
“Greater connectivity between IT and OT is necessary to harness advanced technology for manufacturing innovation, but it increases the risks of a breach. However, very few firms are mature in protecting and defending against such cyber risks,” said Geraldine Kor, Head of Global Enterprise Business, Telstra International. “Our study also uncovered a fragmented approach to security responsibility, which can leave manufacturing businesses without a clear direction. This responsibility must be clear and integrated so that one group or person will have the authority to act on security challenges for mission-critical systems. It is equally important to have the right people and security-focused culture as their absence will hinder security posture readiness, compounding technical challenges.”
“IT and OT integration create enormous value for organisations across industries, although organisations must address risks to unlock its potential. Organisations should prioritise IT/OT and IoT security across six core areas: Collaboration and planning, defining a strategy, bolstering technical expertise, assign responsibility and accountability, leveraging the right tools, and expedite readiness with standards,” added Ganesh Narayanan, Global Head of Cybersecurity, Telstra International.
“Our study illuminates critical attack vectors and lessons learned, and provides timely advice for any executive responsible for IT and OT,” said Adam Etherington, Senior Principal Analyst, Omdia. “More pervasive connectivity between IT and OT is essential across greenfield and brownfield manufacturing system design and enhancements. Step change improvements to innovation, availability, safety and security require firms to harness Cloud, IoT, AI and private networks, with IT/OT convergence bringing these technologies to life.
“However, most firms have been hit with expensive outages and security incidents while traditional security controls, policies and culture struggle to keep pace. Given the magnitude of downtime costs from any breach or network incident that impacted operations, it’s important to better understand the causes for proactive remediation.”
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