CYBERSECURITY MAY/JUNE 2020
Lockdown has seen an unprecedented spike in cyberattacks on UK manufacturers,
leading to fears that the industry may not be prepared for a breach in its systems
BY CHRIS BECK
The coronavirus pandemic has caused
untold disruption to organisations
across the world. Manufacturing is no
of redundancies.
The threats to business are, for the
most part, obvious. However, there is an
invisible threat that could be even more
damaging than a two-month shutdown,
and something that has seen a resurgence
during the pandemic: cyberattack.
of a growth in so-called phishing attacks
the victim to share personal information such
as bank details) during the lockdown. Stephen
Bowes, global practice director, security and
information technologies at BSI Consulting
Services, explains: “World events like COVID-19
provide vast opportunities for cyber attackers to
infi ltrate companies and gain user data such as
login credentials or fi nancial information. We are
seeing attackers increase their presence due to the
crisis and with many of the global workforce now
working remotely. Phishing is one of the highest
causes for cybercrime and all online users, in work
and at home, need to be alert as cases of fraud are
rising during this time.”
A growing concern
The issue of cybersecurity
has been growing in the
network is secure, there is the
potential for unrestricted access
to almost all levels of a plant’s
automation and control assets.
“Whatever the cause, a
security breach at processing
facilities like refi neries, chemical
plants, power plants or water
treatment plants may not just
result in loss of data: it could lead
to prolonged loss of production,
threaten the environment and
the health of employees and local
residents, and cause signifi cant
Below: The
typical factory
has many
vulnerable
points for
cyberattackers
to exploit
(Source: Eaton)
fi nancial and reputational
damage.”
However, the fi gures make
for sobering reading. The NTT
2020 Global Threat Intelligence
Report (https://bit.ly/3cxGEeP)
found that UK manufacturing has
become a main target for cyber
criminals, becoming the most
attacked sector in the UK and
Ireland – representing almost a
third of all attacks – while global
research undertaken by nCipher
Security and the Ponemon
Institute (https://bit.ly/3eJ5b22)
found that the manufacturing
sector lags behind others when
it comes to implementing
protection measures. This isn’t
necessarily unsurprising, says
Stephen Phipson, chief executive
of Make UK.
“When you start talking to
companies, you realise that at
many SMEs – the machine shops,
injection moulding shops and
so on – the owner is part of the
workforce, and hasn’t really got
time to think about anything
beyond the day-to-day running
24 www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
deepagopi2011 / stock.adobe.com
BREACHING THE PERIMETER
exception, with workers being furloughed
and several major UK manufacturers
issuing profi t warnings and threats
BSI has warned companies in all sectors
(sending fake emails that look reputable to get
manufacturing sector for some
time. “Greater connectivity
and global initiatives like
Industry 4.0 are encouraging
many industrial sectors
to embrace the power
that fully integrated data
architectures can deliver,”
says Andreas Agostin,
industrial network sales
specialist at Eaton. “This
connectivity does, however,
come with risks. Unless a
/3cxGEeP)
/3eJ5b22)
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
/stock.adobe.com