Half of UK manufacturers have experienced cyber attacks

The manufacturing sector is the third most targeted for attack, with only government systems and finance more vulnerable. Yet manufacturing - which has 2.6 million employees, provides 10 per cent of UK output and 70 per cent of business research and development - is among the least well protected sector against cyber-crime in Britain.

The new report, Cyber-Security for Manufacturing, published by EEF, The manufacturers' organisation and AIG, and conducted by The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), pinpoints the susceptibility of manufacturers to cyber risk, revealing that 41 per cent of companies do not believe they have access to enough information to even assess their true cyber risk. And 45 per cent are not confident that they have access to the right tools for the job.

Cyber threat is holding back companies from investing in digital technologies, with a third of those surveyed nervous of digital improvement. Moreover, a worryingly large 12 per cent of manufacturers admit they have no technical or managerial processes in place to even start assessing the real risk.

One of the easiest forms of cyber-attack comes through poorly protected office systems, often the first implemented historically within manufacturing businesses. The report looks at a number of real-life examples, including two where companies' production systems were infiltrated and severely disrupted after hackers gained access to their IT systems by initially hacking into unprotected office software used to keep HR and admin records.

Urgent action required

Stephen Phipson, CEO of EEF, The manufacturers' organisation, comments: "More and more companies are at risk of attack and manufacturers urgently need to take steps to protect themselves against this burgeoning threat.

"EEF has a vital role supporting manufacturers in the face of this challenge and we are working closely with RUSI, whose world-leading Cyber Security Research Programme is well established as a key voice to understand the fight against the threat of ever evolving cyber-crime to the modern business.

"We know businesses cannot afford to ignore this issue any longer and while we welcome government's progress in improving cyber-security resilience, to date, through the work of the NCA and NCSC, there needs to be an increasing focus given to the specific needs of manufacturing, which hitherto has been lacking.

"Failing to get this right could cost the UK economy billions of pounds, put thousands of jobs at risk and delay the supply of essential equipment to key public services and major national infrastructure projects. I hope this report underlines the critical risk to government and industry."

Risk has increased in the last year

Romaney O'Malley, Head of UK Regions and Head of Industrials at AIG Europe, adds: "For many manufacturers, cyber risk is still not considered a principal risk on the risk register. Nevertheless, the cyber threat landscape has evolved over the last year, with attacks becoming more sophisticated and more broadly disruptive. There is an increasing level of state-sponsored attacks between nation states, where companies infected by malware may just be collateral damage. The potential threat from cyber-crime is widespread.

"There is evidentially significant need for greater awareness and understanding of the importance of cyber risk management, not only to protect existing businesses, but to create more secure environments to grow and capitalise on the potential that digital technology advances bring to manufacturers."

Dr Karin Von Hippel, Director General of RUSI, states: "The importance of the manufacturing sector to the security of the UK economy cannot be overstated. Increasing digitisation creates further opportunities, but also exposes us to potential vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks, whether from criminals or nation-state adversaries. The sector needs to recognise these risks and respond accordingly."

The report urges companies to begin a programme of continuous assessment of which people, information and technologies are critical to their organisation and undertake real-time scenario planning to map out the consequences of a cyber-security infrastructure or data breach. More and more customers are demanding cyber security guarantees from their suppliers and over a third of manufacturers admitted they could not to this.

Follow the link to download the full report Cyber-Security for Manufacturing.