Manufacturing

It is no secret that the manufacturing industry is one of the most targeted industries regarding cyberattacks. Many manufacturers have been subject to a cybersecurity incident at some point, and half of those organizations suffered financial loss or disruption to their business. Threat actors (the bad guys) are seeking to steal intelligence on any new product, process, or technology that a manufacturer creates, which can be anything from obtaining blueprints of confidential designs, secret formulas, or unique assembly processes. Adversaries can then use this information to sell products at a lower price and cut both competitive advantages and margins. Nation-State Actors are known to target manufacturing companies and utilities. Annual assessments can help uncover vulnerabilities and help harden the infrastructure. In conjunction with the knowledge that manufacturers hold valuable, sensitive information, manufacturers are an increasingly attractive prospect for threat actors because of how exposed their IT systems are to infection. This is because, historically, manufacturers have been concerned with securing their OT (Operational Technology) like ICS (Industrial Control System) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) management equipment, often neglecting IT security almost entirely. Threat actors are, therefore, aware that a manufacturer's network is often unprotected and that the right cybersecurity tools and processes are not in place. Better yet, they know that a manufacturer's supply chain is large and complex with vulnerabilities in abundance, and therefore the ideal environment to attempt an attack that can rapidly propagate across networks and infect various suppliers and businesses at ease. Manufacturing firms must build depth in defense defense-in-depth around critical assets and data to protect the organization's trade secrets. Stetson can help protect these assets from getting into the hands of others that could potentially implement cheaper taking