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Cyber Security and Industry 4.0 — Struggles and Strategies for Manufacturers

This article appeared in the July 2019 issue of MiMfg Magazine. Read the full issue and find past issues online.

The past two years have been considered by many to be the worst years for data breaches and cyberattacks, largely due to the rise in ransomware and other crippling security attacks. According to Cisco’s annual cyber security report, ransomware is growing at an annual rate of 350 percent and the FBI estimates the annual global market to be around one billion dollars. Yet despite this constant news about the growing cyber-threats in the industry, many manufacturers are falling short with their cyber security initiatives and in updating their technology infrastructure, and this is what can leave their environment vulnerable to an attack. This can happen because of lack of time or knowledge of in-house resources, aging technology infrastructure or tight budgets in this highly competitive environment. As a result, lines are down, customer service suffers, and sales are affected. This equates to lost revenue.

Continuing to gain adoption, Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution, is upon us and brings many exciting trends and competitive advantages to manufacturers like end-to-end automation as well as incomparable levels of information exchange both on and off your plant or shop floor. To bring Industry 4.0 into realization, it requires adoption from the infrastructure up, integrating Internet of Things (IoT), cyber physical systems, networking systems, wireless technologies, cloud computing and enhanced security directly into your manufacturing process, regardless of your business size. The great news is that the same principals used in establishing your cyber security plan can be used when developing your Industry 4.0 initiatives. Both start with fundamental upgrades to your infrastructure systems that will support both the enhanced security required and increased automation and efficiency you desire.

When looking for solutions to combat today’s cyber security threats or to adopt Industry 4.0 initiatives, manufacturers should consider these four strategies.

  1. Upgrade your infrastructure devices such as firewalls, switches and wireless solutions to security-aware smart devices. Called Next Generation devices and cloud-managed solutions, these are crucial to your Industry 4.0 initiatives and cyber security plans. Detect, contain and knock out security threats at all levels in your environment while providing secure connectivity for your entire workforce including all systems, devices and industrial IoT automation.
  2. Implement Next Generation security solutions to protect all your endpoints, network devices and cloud services. Anti-virus is no longer adequate protection and these new solutions protect against both known or unknown security threats regardless of where they occur.
  3. Educate your employees. It doesn’t matter how robust your cyber security plan is; if it doesn’t include proactive employee education, simply put, you don’t have a plan. Your employees are your first line of defense against threats and are key to adopting Industry 4.0 initiatives. Training should be continuous, not a one-time effort.
  4. Re-tool your Backup, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity (BDR & BC) plan. The best defense is a good offense. As security threats increase and demands on your technology systems grow, having a solid BDR & BC plan is critical. With Industry 4.0 adding tremendous amounts of information collection and sharing, this data needs to be secured and protected.

In today’s highly competitive market, manufacturers need to drive efficiency in every part of their operation. Insuring a solid cyber security plan and adopting Industry 4.0 technologies are ways you can stand out in your industry.

About the Author

Gary LutzGary Lutz is president & senior partner with IT Resource Inc. He may be reached at 616-837-6930 or garyl@itrw.net.