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A modern network must be able to respond easily, quickly and flexibly to the growing needs of today’s digital business. Must provide visibility & control of applications, users and devices on and off the network and Intelligently direct traffic across the WAN. Be scalable and automate the process to provide new innovative services. Support IoT devices and utilize state-of-the-art technologies such as real-time analytics, ML and AI. And all these must be provided with maximum security and minimum cost.

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“You also get a sense of purpose,” says Padhi. “Why are these people so excited to be here? It’s because they believe that they’re driving innovation, that they’re doing things that are important to our future.”

McKinsey’s report suggests that US manufacturers stand to benefit from further waves of digital innovation as capital markets continue to make big investments in nextgeneration technologies. Annual investment in AI has reached roughly US$150bn, with investors pouring US$250bn into IoT technologies and US$300bn into cloud computing every year.

In the UK, nearly half of the nation’s manufacturers (42%) have been victims of cybercrime in 2022, it is believed. This information emerged in the report Cyber Security: UK manufacturing, published by Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation, in association with BlackBerry.

The report found that, though 74% of manufacturers said the cyber protection processes they had in place prevented any business impact whatsoever, the remaining 26% revealed they had sustained substantial financial loss, with losses ranging from £50,000 to £250,000.

“In my experience, it is possible — indeed, likely — that malware is present in your legacy infrastructure, just waiting for the right time to strike,” says Keiron Holyome, Vice President of UKI, Middle East & Africa at BlackBerry. “Today’s sophisticated threats are not deterred by outdated antivirus and firewall protection. The threat landscape in the sector is expanding — and fast — because of ‘smart’ and connected manufacturing, which economies-of-scale demand. However, this growth of the industrial IoT increases potential cyber risk, as well.”

An added risk for companies has been the need to speed up the adoption of digital processes to boost production in today’s challenging economic climate. This increase in the implementation of tech solutions at the heart of production operations has increased the emphasis on cybersecurity within businesses, with 95% of companies reporting that cybersecurity is a necessary function of their operations.

The Make UK report noted that targeted attacks are the most common, with operational disruption the most frequent result of a cyber incident. Reputational loss is the second most significant issue for companies, with customers looking for evidence of cyber protection.

Supply chain robotics company Gather AI is using autonomous warehouse drones powered by artificial intelligence to address Covid-19’s enormous impact on global supply chains.

The company’s platform includes drones which fly autonomously using software that enables them to navigate warehouses without the aid of GPS or changes to building infrastructure or processes such as lighting, WiFi or labelling.

Gather AI says its drones collect data 15 times faster than human counters, with the ability to read over 95 per cent of labels and barcodes, minimising the work for human counters.

"The supply chain issues making headlines less than a year ago put a spotlight on challenges that the logistics industry has been trying to address for the last two decades - how to effectively manage operations to maximise revenue and efficiency, all while minimising frustrations that come with labour shortages," says Gather AI Co-Founder Sankalp Arora. "The reality is, the majority of warehouses have access to technology that is from before the e-commerce boom, which has exacerbated the struggle to keep up with the changes in both industry demands and customer habits."

Over half of manufacturers have taken no cyber action Legacy IT within a business was found to be the most common risk to manufacturers (45%), followed by a lack of cyber skills. The necessity of providing access to third parties for monitoring and maintenance is the third most frequent reason for a cyber incident among manufacturers.

Despite knowing the risks, most companies (54%) have not taken further cybersecurity action — even after adopting new technologies. Only those who have introduced systems from the IoT appear to have invested heavily in cyber protection.

IoT technologies often lie at the centre of the manufacturing processes and are seen as business critical, driving companies to spend more to protect them. The Make UK report found those businesses that have implemented industrial IoT report it to be the biggest driver in increasing their overall level of organisational cybersecurity.

“Digitisation is revolutionising modern manufacturing and becoming increasingly important to drive efficiencies in this incredibly difficult, inflationary environment,” says Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK. “While cost remains the main barrier to companies installing proper cyber protection, the need to increase the use of the latest technology makes mounting a proper defence against cyber threats essential.”

Employee error remains the most common reason for a cyber-attack in the manufacturing industry. To address this issue, 62% of manufacturers now offer cybersecurity training to their staff, in an effort to reduce the risk of cyber attacks. Smaller companies are, however, lagging behind, with only 50% of 0-9-employee companies offering any training at all.

Boardrooms take control of driving cyber protection

The report also found that 62% of manufacturers now have a formal cybersecurity procedure in place in the event of an incident — an increase of 11% from last year’s figures. Additionally, 62% of the industry now says that there is a senior manager involved in a cybersecurity committee within the business, while 58% reported that a main board director is responsible for driving cyber protection for the firm.

The report found that 89% of companies are investing heavily in antivirus software and firewalls to secure internet connections. Very few companies — under 1% — reported not having any technical mitigation in place. Regarding perceived threat origin, Russia and China are level-pegging, with 75% of manufacturers perceiving a cyber threat originating from these regions, followed by the EU (25%) and the US (23%).

The report also identified the main barriers to companies increasing their level of cybersecurity: the initial cost of cyber protection products was cited as the main block by just over 40% of manufacturers, while the cost of maintaining these security systems was the second most cited barrier, with 35% of the industry suggesting it is a key obstacle.

“No business can afford to ignore this issue, and failing to get this right could cost the manufacturing industry billions of pounds and put thousands of jobs at risk,” says Phipson. “Every business is vulnerable, and every business needs to take the necessary steps to protect themselves properly.”