Cyber security poses rising threat to manufacturing industry

Manufacturers affected by a cyber attack can be out of pocket to the tune of £160,000 to £1.6m with damage to enterprise and corporate systems or production control causing the biggest hits. 

The latest figures are courtesy of a new survey by researchers Omdia which found that 80 per cent of manufacturing firms had experienced a significant increase in overall security incidents and breaches in 2024.

“These figures are frightening and offer further evidence that the manufacturing sector is increasingly exposed to a series of internal and external threats affecting profitability and growth,” said Victoria Myers of Energy Solicitors Limited (ESL).

“It’s important to look at every available money-saving opportunity right now, whether that’s putting a robust cyber security plan in place or taking legal advice when it comes to miss-sold energy contracts. At ESL we can’t predict when the next cyber threat might materialise but we can make sure manufacturers are well positioned to tackle rogue energy brokers.”

The Omdia survey, produced in partnership with Telstra International, the global arm of telecommunications and technology company Telstra, found that fewer than half of manufacturers are fully prepared to repel a potentially costly cyber attack.

And Adam Etherington, Senior Principal Analyst at Omdia, said: “Our study provides timely advice for any executive responsible for information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT).

“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.”

Read the full Omdia report here.