Smart, connected production machinery has transformed manufacturing, leading to tremendous productivity, safety and quality gains. However, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has also created new security risks. Connected machines represent a cybersecurity endpoint in the smart factory that can put facilities and data at risk. Strong endpoint security practices—including machine user authentication—are needed to protect valuable intellectual property (IP), prevent production delays, and ensure the safety of people and facilities.
Cyberattacks on manufacturers are rising, with an average cost of $4.47 million per incident in 2022. Many of these are traditional attacks on IT infrastructure, such as phishing attacks, ransomware and malware attacks on websites or networks. However, as manufacturers ramp up their use of IIoT and operational technology (OT) devices, production machinery has become a tempting target for hackers and bad actors. Attacks on production machinery or safety-instrumented systems (SIS) can cause considerable operational disruption.