What Cybersecurity Protections Should Your Manufacturing Company Have in Place?

It’s important that manufacturing companies work to have at least 8–12 cybersecurity protections available.

This Can:

• Prevent Ransomware

• Protect Engineering Data

• And Help Maintain compliance

At a minimum, manufacturers should implement multi-factor authentication (MFA). This is a form of endpoint protection that secures firewalls, helps with employee phishing training, and creates disaster recovery backups, while constantly implementing security monitoring.

Manufacturers are unfortunately frequent cyberattack targets, mainly because they rely on systems such as ERP platforms, CAD software, and production networks. A cyber incident can produce serious issues for manufacturing companies by: 

• Halting operations

• Delaying shipments

• Exposing valuable property 

That’s why implementing a structured cybersecurity framework is so important! It can reduce ransomware risk by over 70% and improve recovery time after an incident.

First you Must Start by creating Core Cybersecurity Protections:

This includes Identity Protection, which starts with security that prevents unauthorized access to company systems. Do This By Using:

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

• Password managers

• Strong password policies

These protections reduce the risk of having your company's accounts compromised, but that’s only the start of the necessary protections. Make sure to also have: 

Endpoint Protection

Because every workstation, laptop, and server is connected to the network, it can be just One of the Many entry points for cyber threats.

To protect your company, instead use:

• Advanced antivirus and Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

• Automated patch management

• Device monitoring

These three tools help Detect and Stop threats before they spread across the network.

Network Security

Another key factor Manufacturing companies must focus on is having a secure and reliable network. To promote this form of necessary network security you should have: 

• Next-generation firewalls

• Network segmentation between offices and production systems 

• Secure remote access

Network security has become more important than ever, and having the proper segmentation, the proper remote access, and necessary security restrictions, can help limit the # of potential breaches.

Data Protection

Manufacturers must also be aware of the valuable data including engineering designs and operational records that have the potential to be destroyed in the event of a breach!

Essential Data Protection Recommendations include:

• Encrypted backups

• Disaster recovery systems

• Regular backup testing

This is necessary to allow companies to easily restore their systems in case of a cyber incident.

Security Risks

Companies Have to also be aware of the roles employees play and the influence they have when it comes to Security Awareness for their company: 

It’s frightening to know that Most cyberattacks start with phishing or social engineering. Which is why it’s important for Manufacturers to have their employees do:

• Cybersecurity training

• Phishing simulations

• Employee awareness programs

If you educate your employees on cybersecurity and the necessary steps to take, you are cutting your risk of an attack in half.

Threat Monitoring

Another key proponent to managing these cybersecurity risks is Threat Monitoring. With Threat Monitoring, you need to have continuous monitoring and rapid response.

Including:

• Security event monitoring

• Threat detection software

• Incident response planning

These systems help identify threats before they disrupt operations, so you don’t lose thousands of dollars to an easily solvable cyber attack:

An Example:

We often run into with Manufacturing companies, is they come to us having little to no security and or protection of their data. They then have about 100-employees in their warehouses practicing these behaviors. 

This is just one of the many examples of a situation, where we had to step in and take action: 

Within days, this previously unprotected and low security manufacturing company had completely been changed. CETech, started by implementing a strong security framework, that had: 

• Patch management, 

• Multi-Factor Authentication 

• Phishing tests periodically

• Employee Security Awareness

With these practices, the company reduced their vulnerability by 80% and passed their Cybersecurity Audit. This audit tested to make sure the company's new cybersecurity practices and monitoring are able to prevent the inevitable from ever happening.

Which is why having proper security is so necessary for these companies. Not only is security and protection an important part of every manufacturing company, but it’s also a good way to protect your own personal information too. So, don’t wait! Give CETech a call, 585-441-0055 and we can give you more safety and security to your everyday work life.