Cloud computing: the manufacturing industry’s cybersecurity Achilles’ heel

Netwrix, the US sensitive data protection specialist, published a report on cybersecurity in the manufacturing industry on January 24, 2024. This sector includes industries involving the transformation of materials, essentially product manufacturing, as well as industrial equipment repair and installation.

The report shows that the manufacturing industry suffers more attacks against its cloud computing infrastructures than any other sector. Cybercriminals are not targeting it specifically, however. 64% of companies in the manufacturing industry say they have suffered a cyberattack, compared to 68% for all sectors.

On the other hand, 85% of organizations targeted by cybercriminals in the manufacturing sector were victims of a phishing attack against their cloud computing infrastructure. This proportion falls to 58% when all sectors are considered. This predominance is reflected in the consequences of such an attack. Account compromise accounts for 45% of cyberattacks in the manufacturing sector (27% for all sectors), while data theft accounts for 25% (15% for all companies).

« The manufacturing sector relies heavily on the cloud to work in real time with its supply chain, » Dirk Schrader, Vice President of Security Research at Netwrix, explains. In response to this risk, companies in the sector are beefing up cybersecurity training for their employees and reinforcing their privileges and passwords.