British Manufacturing Severely Affected By Cyber Attacks

Britain’s manufacturing sector has been severely tested by cyber security attacks since the start of the pandemic, according to new research by Keeper Security

In fact, the 2021 Cybersecurity Census Report found the average manufacturing company experienced 30 cyber attacks during the past year alone, with 85% expecting that figure to increase over the coming 12 months.

It’s clear that the pandemic had a large impact on the manufacturing sector when it comes to cyber security, with nearly a third (30%) of manufacturers experiencing disruption to trade through successful cyber attacks, and 28% also suffering disruption to supply chains. 

The effect of the pandemic has also resulted in businesses focusing their priorities across a host of different areas, with budgets pulled in multiple directions and only 39% of senior IT leaders able to prioritise IT as their number one investment. 

This has led to gaps in cyber security provision, ranging from a lack of necessary skills, to poor security hygiene. 

According to the research, 60% of employees don’t understand the cyber security implications of poor password hygiene. 24% also admit that they lack the skills to deal with cyber attacks, and 58% believe the UK has a skills shortage among IT workers, directly impacting their company’s cyber security. 

The switch to remote working throughout the pandemic also made a big difference to the increase in cybersecurity attacks on the manufacturing sector, with 53% of respondents explaining that cyber security policies had been relaxed over the past year to implement working from home. 

The switch to remote working presents a continuing concern to manufacturers, with 25% highlighting remote working as their greatest cyber security risk this year. 

Despite these concerns, there are solutions at hand, and manufacturers are taking the issue of cyber security seriously. 78% of respondents see cybersecurity as becoming more important to their business over the next 12 months, and 79% of manufacturers are looking to implement a board member whose role is specifically dedicated to the cyber-welfare of their organisation. 

Perhaps one of the biggest defences in the fight against cyber attacks could be the creation of an independent, national body capable of holding businesses accountable and forcing the industry to become more cyber-compliant. With 82% of respondents in favour of such a body, and 86% of UK manufacturers wanting all businesses to have a level of certified cybersecurity protection in place before being allowed to trade, we could see an effective shield against cyber crime in the UK. “The UK manufacturing sector has faced an unprecedented number of operational challenges the past year, which resulted in an increased number of cyber attacks” explained Darren Guccione, CEO of Keeper Security. “The switch to distributed remote work exposed existing cyber security vulnerabilities and internal control weaknesses across an exponentially larger attack surface. The good news is that manufacturers can access cost-effective cybersecurity solutions which effectively protect their organisations.”

According to the report, a step-change is already apparent among manufacturers in the UK, with cyber security becoming an increasingly important priority. It just needs the right resources, skills and budget. 

Keeper Security:     HRNews:      Plant Services

You Might Also Read: 

Industrial Companies At Risk As Attacks Double:

 

« Internet Phone Providers Under Attack
New US National Cyber Director »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Perimeter 81 / How to Select the Right ZTNA Solution

Perimeter 81 / How to Select the Right ZTNA Solution

Gartner insights into How to Select the Right ZTNA offering. Download this FREE report for a limited time only.

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)

ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: What Is A Next-Generation Firewall (and why does it matter)

On-Demand Webinar - Hear security experts from SANS and AWS break down the myths and realities of what an NGFW is and what one can do for your security posture.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

Virtustream

Virtustream

The Virtustream Enterprise Class Cloud provides a secure, highly available, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to enterprises and government customers.

Luxar Tech

Luxar Tech

Luxar's network visibility products enable enterprises and service providers to monitor network traffic, improve security and optimize efficiency.

Cyber Risk & Insurance Forum (CRIF)

Cyber Risk & Insurance Forum (CRIF)

CRIF helps organisations understand cyber risks and the damage that might occur by supporting the development of effective insurance solutions.

Open Systems International (OSI)

Open Systems International (OSI)

Our innovative Operations Technology (OT) solutions are highly scalable and can be deployed by various utility companies to monitor, control and optimize their real-time operations.

Egnyte

Egnyte

Egnyte delivers secure content collaboration, compliant data protection and simple infrastructure modernization; all through a single SaaS solution.

Transpere

Transpere

Transpere provides IT Asset Disposition (ITAD), Data Destruction, Electronic Recycling and Onsite Data Services.

SearchInform

SearchInform

SearchInform is a leading risk management product developer, protecting business and government institutions against data theft, harmful human behavior, compliance breaches and incomplete audit.

Innefu Labs

Innefu Labs

Innefu is an Information Security R&D startup, providing cutting edge Information Security & Data Analytics solutions.

Firmus

Firmus

As the leading penetration testing services provider in Malaysia, Firmus evaluates the ability of your internal or external information assets to withstand attacks.

Codean

Codean

The Codean Review Environment automates mundane software analysis tasks, so security experts can focus on finding vulnerabilities.

BCyber

BCyber

BCyber is a Swiss Cyber Security company that provides security products, training, and managed services to protect diverse IT and OT environments against cyber, physical, and cyber-physical threats.

Altospam

Altospam

Altospam is a full service corporate email protection, integrating multiple security levels for your emails.

NXM Labs

NXM Labs

NXM is a leader in a leader in advanced cybersecurity software for connected devices.

PCCW Global

PCCW Global

PCCW Global is a leading communications service provider, offering mobility, voice and data solutions to multinational enterprises, telecomms partners, cloud and application service providers.

Beround

Beround

Beround is an IT consultancy firm specialized in software testing.

SignMyCode

SignMyCode

SignMyCode is a one-stop shop for trusted and authentic code signing solutions to safeguard software.