July 2019
MiMfg Magazine
Cyber Security and Industry 4.0 —
Struggles and Strategies for Manufacturers
By Gary Lutz • IT Resource Inc.
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 funda-
mental 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, manufac-
turers 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.
6
Gary Lutz is president & senior
partner with IT Resource Inc. He
may be reached at 616-837-6930
or [email protected].
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