Top 8 cybersecurity practices every manufacturer should adopt
As manufacturers accelerate digital transformation, cybersecurity has become a fundamental requirement for operational resilience. The integration of connected machinery, industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices and automated production systems is delivering significant productivity gains. However, these manufacturing innovations are also creating new vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit.
The financial consequences are substantial. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach in the industrial sector reached $5.56 million, an 18% increase from the previous year. Beyond financial losses, cyberattacks can disrupt production, compromise intellectual property and threaten employee safety.
Effective manufacturing cybersecurity therefore requires a proactive strategy that protects both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT). Here are eight essential practices manufacturers should prioritise.
1. Conduct regular cybersecurity risk assessments
Understanding existing vulnerabilities is the foundation of effective manufacturing cybersecurity. Manufacturers operate complex environments combining legacy industrial equipment, enterprise IT networks and increasingly sophisticated connected technologies.
Regular cybersecurity risk assessments help identify potential weaknesses before attackers exploit them. These evaluations should cover industrial control systems, production machinery, connected devices, software applications and third-party access points.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides a useful starting point through its Cybersecurity Framework 2.0. Its Manufacturing Profile, published as an initial public draft in September 2025, offers sector-specific guidance for managing cybersecurity risks.
Manufacturers should prioritise vulnerabilities according to their potential impact on production continuity, safety and sensitive information. Reassessing risks following equipment upgrades, system integrations or operational changes ensures security measures remain relevant as manufacturing environments evolve.
2. Strengthen industrial network security
Modern manufacturing facilities depend on interconnected systems to coordinate production, monitor equipment performance and manage supply chains. However, greater connectivity can allow cyber threats to spread between previously isolated environments.
Network segmentation is one of the most effective measures manufacturers can implement. Separating corporate IT infrastructure from operational technology networks helps prevent an attack on office systems from reaching critical production equipment.
Manufacturers should also deploy appropriately configured firewalls, secure remote access solutions and industrial network monitoring tools.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) identifies network security and access controls among the important safeguards within its Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals.
Importantly, industrial network security must account for equipment availability and safety requirements. Security improvements should be tested carefully to avoid interrupting production processes or disrupting communication between industrial control systems.
3. Implement strong access controls and multifactor authentication
Unauthorised access remains a significant cybersecurity concern for manufacturers, particularly as employees, contractors and equipment suppliers increasingly connect remotely to industrial systems.
Adopting zero trust security principles can reduce these risks. Rather than automatically trusting users or devices within a corporate network, zero trust requires access requests to be verified and permissions restricted according to operational requirements.
Manufacturers should implement role-based access controls, ensuring employees can access only the systems necessary for their responsibilities.
Multifactor authentication (MFA) provides another important protective layer, requiring additional verification beyond a password. CISA specifically recommends phishing-resistant MFA wherever practical.
Privileged accounts, remote maintenance connections and administrative access should receive particular attention. Manufacturers should also regularly review permissions and promptly remove access when employees or contractors leave.
These measures reduce the likelihood that compromised credentials will provide attackers with unrestricted access to critical manufacturing infrastructure.
4. Secure industrial IoT devices and connected machinery
Smart factories increasingly rely on connected sensors, robotics, predictive maintenance platforms and intelligent production equipment. While these manufacturing innovations improve efficiency and visibility, they also expand the potential attack surface.
Industrial IoT devices may introduce vulnerabilities through outdated firmware, weak authentication, insecure communication protocols or poorly configured remote connections.
Manufacturers should maintain comprehensive inventories of connected devices, including their software versions, network connections and security capabilities.
Default passwords should be replaced, unnecessary services disabled and device communications restricted wherever possible. Security requirements should also form part of equipment procurement decisions.
Regular firmware updates are important, although changes to operational technology must be tested and scheduled to minimise disruption.
As artificial intelligence and advanced automation become more deeply embedded in production environments, manufacturers must ensure that cybersecurity develops alongside technological innovation rather than becoming an afterthought.
5. Invest in employee cybersecurity awareness
Technology alone cannot eliminate cybersecurity risks. Employees remain an essential part of a manufacturer’s defence against phishing attacks, malicious attachments, credential theft and social engineering.
IBM’s 2024 industrial-sector research attributed 27% of breaches in its dataset to human error, demonstrating the importance of workforce awareness.
Manufacturers should provide regular cybersecurity training tailored to different responsibilities. Office employees may require guidance on identifying suspicious emails, while production teams need to recognise unusual equipment behaviour, unauthorised USB devices and suspicious maintenance requests.
Training should include practical exercises, simulated phishing campaigns and clear procedures for reporting potential incidents.
Cybersecurity awareness must also extend to contractors and temporary personnel who interact with manufacturing systems.
Creating a culture in which employees report suspicious activity promptly, without fear of unnecessary blame, can help organisations detect threats before they escalate into major operational incidents.
6. Maintain effective patch management and system updates
Outdated software and unpatched vulnerabilities provide cybercriminals with opportunities to compromise manufacturing systems.
However, patch management presents particular challenges in industrial environments. Production equipment may operate continuously, while older control systems may not support the latest security updates.
Manufacturers therefore need a risk-based approach that balances cybersecurity requirements with operational reliability.
IT and OT teams should collaborate to identify vulnerable systems, assess available patches and schedule updates during planned maintenance periods.
Where immediate patching is impractical, compensating controls such as network isolation, restricted access and enhanced monitoring can reduce exposure.
Equipment manufacturers and technology suppliers should also provide timely information about security vulnerabilities and supported software versions.
A documented patch management process helps manufacturers maintain accountability while ensuring that critical production systems receive appropriate protection throughout their operational lifecycles.
7. Strengthen supply chain cybersecurity
Manufacturing operations depend on extensive networks of suppliers, logistics providers, software vendors and specialist maintenance contractors. Each external relationship can introduce additional cybersecurity exposure.
Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report identified growing third-party involvement in breaches, highlighting the importance of supply chain security.
Manufacturers should assess suppliers’ cybersecurity practices before granting access to sensitive information or operational systems.
Contracts should establish clear expectations regarding data protection, incident reporting, remote access and vulnerability management.
Third-party connections should be monitored and restricted to necessary systems, while supplier permissions should be reviewed regularly.
Cybersecurity assessments should also consider software dependencies and connected equipment purchased from external vendors.
As supply chains become increasingly digitised, manufacturers must recognise that their security posture depends partly on the resilience of the organisations with which they exchange information and operational access.
8. Develop and regularly test incident response and recovery plans
Even well-protected manufacturing organisations cannot eliminate every cyber threat. Preparing for potential incidents is therefore essential to maintaining operational continuity.
A comprehensive incident response plan should establish responsibilities, communication procedures and actions for identifying, containing and recovering from cyberattacks.
Manufacturers should develop scenarios involving ransomware, compromised industrial control systems and disruption to critical production equipment.
Regular exercises involving cybersecurity specialists, operational managers and senior leadership can identify weaknesses before a genuine emergency occurs.
Secure, isolated or immutable backups are particularly important. Organisations should regularly test whether essential production configurations, business data and operational systems can be restored successfully.
Recovery procedures must also account for equipment safety and the need to validate industrial systems before restarting production.
By integrating cybersecurity response with broader business continuity planning, manufacturers can reduce disruption and recover more effectively when incidents occur.
Building a more resilient manufacturing future
As manufacturing innovations continue to transform industrial operations, cybersecurity must become an integral component of business strategy rather than a standalone IT responsibility.
Connected factories, intelligent automation and data-driven production offer considerable competitive advantages, but these benefits depend on secure and resilient infrastructure.
The most effective manufacturing cybersecurity strategies combine technical safeguards with employee awareness, supplier oversight and operational preparedness.
For manufacturers, adopting these eight practices provides a practical foundation for reducing cyber risk, protecting production continuity and supporting long-term digital transformation.
Ultimately, cybersecurity is not simply about preventing attacks. It is about creating the confidence and resilience manufacturers need to innovate, compete and operate securely in an increasingly connected industrial landscape.
