The 2021 Cybersecurity Census Report found that the average manufacturing company experienced 30 cyber attacks during the past year alone, with 85% expecting that figure to increase over the coming 12 months.
It’s clear that the pandemic had a large impact on the manufacturing sector when it comes to cyber security, with almost a 30% of manufacturers experiencing some disruption to trade through successful cyber attacks, and 28% also suffering disruption to supply chains.
According to the report, 60% of employees don’t understand the cyber security implications of poor password hygiene. Also, 24% admit that they lack the skills to deal with cyber attacks, and 58% believe the UK has a skills shortage among IT workers, directly impacting their company’s cyber security hygiene.
The switch to remote working throughout the pandemic notably caused an increase in cybersecurity attacks on the manufacturing sector, with 53% of respondents explaining that cyber security policies had been more lax over the past year to implement working from home.
Despite these concerns, there are solutions at hand, and manufacturers are taking the issue of cyber security seriously. 78% of respondents see cybersecurity as becoming more important to their business over the next 12 months, and 79% of manufacturers are looking to implement a board member whose role is specifically dedicated to the cyber-welfare of their organization.