Like many sectors, the UK manufacturing industry has experienced an extraordinary amount of change in recent months. With IT infrastructures crucial to efficiency, knowing how to protect your systems against cyberattacks should be an essential part of your 2021 security strategy.
Cyber attackers have taken advantage of remote working and digital systems to find ever more innovative ways to access private data and cause significant harm. While the price of downtime and recovery can be high, the real cost is often the damage done to a company’s reputation.
Ransomware Risks
As the dominant cyberthreat in 2021, ransomware attacks should be top of your priority list when it comes to improving your IT security. They had already been on the rise during 2019, but the effects of Covid-19 have led to a rise in incidents with manufacturing companies among those targeted.
Ransomware works by infiltrating a system and manipulating data so that it can no longer be used by the host without first paying a ransom. Demands are published on leak sites to pressurise victims into payment, with the number of sites having increased significantly during the past year.
By targeting databases and file servers, ransomware can quickly spread and take control of systems across a whole company. Not only is internal data at risk but any information on suppliers, clients and employees can be accessed, leading to additional data protection breaches.
Protecting Supply Chains
For the manufacturing industry, supply chains are an important part of the business, but they are increasingly at risk of malware attacks. You may have heard of ‘Solorigate’ where an IT monitoring product by SolarWinds was infected with SUNBURST malware and passed on to 18,000 customers.
Cybercriminals are becoming even more specific when it comes to which industries they target and their means of infiltration, with manufacturing businesses among those at risk.
Fight Against Phishing
With Covid-19 remaining an ongoing concern, phishing has taken advantage of our need for news to conceal malware within pandemic-related material, from fake websites manipulating users into sharing private data to text messages asking for payment information.
For businesses, the greatest risk is from their own employees – simply clicking an email link or answering an unknown call can leave internal systems open to attack, which can take weeks or even months to detect and remedy.
The Positive Part
While cyberthreats are still on the rise, this has led to a greater awareness of their damage and an active interest in increased security. The more incidents among different industries are exposed by the media, the stronger our responsibility becomes in knowing how to protect our businesses.
With over 25 years of experience in the sector, Netpoint Solutions have helped many manufacturing companies to improve their digital security and to reduce the risk of cyberattacks across the entire business. Remember, it is not only your own company at risk but everyone you work with, too.
Book your free 30-minute discovery meeting today – https://calendly.com/ben-cooper-netpoint/30-minute-business-meeting
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