Do you own a business that is involved in the printing of materials such as marketing materials or for books you might see in the shop? Or perhaps you produce equipment for the sports or leisure industry? Whichever industry it may be, the Cyber Resilience Centre for the South East has issued warning to all SME’s and micro businesses involved in manufacturing.

This follows the release of Make UK’s report, Cyber Resilience -The Last Line of Defence. In this report it was revealed that just under half of Britain’s manufacturers have been the victim of cyber-crime during the last 12 months, after thousands of organisations moved their staff to remote working when the Covid crisis struck.

The report also revealed that 63% of respondents said it had cost them up to £5,000 and 22% said it cost their business between £5,000 - £25,000, for many SME’s and micro businesses this could be a year’s earnings lost overnight during a cyber-attack.

Whilst these are some frightening statistics, there is evidence of adoption when it comes to prioritising cyber security and the possible impacts an attack could have on business. Make UK’s report highlights that 61% of manufacturing companies now have a board director responsible for cyber security and over 60% feature cyber security on the agenda in risk management discussions.

With such rises in attacks on the manufacturing sector and the constant digitisation of the factory floor, you need to consider potential cyber vulnerabilities at the very beginning of the manufacturing line. To help, our points of entry for a cyber-attack infographic will help your employees to identify risks that they may have not considered before.

Top tips for manufactures to help you avoid a cyber-attack

1. Practice makes perfect

Ensure you have a cybersecurity policy that all of your employees follow and that it is regularly updated.

2. Knowledge is power Educate all your employees on common cyber-attacks and the risks of them. Common attacks include:

- Phishing emails/text messages

- Data breaches

- Ransomware

3. Lock your devices as if they are your doors

Encrypt and password protect all devices used by your employees. This includes machinery, smart devices and computers.

4. Double up your protection Ensure two-factor authentication is utilised as much as possible. This will mean two distinct forms of identification will be needed in order for access to be given to something.

5. Choose your passwords wisely Use a strong password to secure your devices, three random words are advised. Passwords generated from three random words help users to create unique passwords that are strong enough for many purposes and can be remembered much more easily.

6. Update, update and update Regularly patching and installing software updates helps to protect your devices as the updates will expose new flaws and vulnerabilities. Software and app updates are designed to fix these weaknesses and installing them as soon as possible will keep your devices secure.

7. Act quickly Having an Incident Response Plan could reduce the cost of a data breach on your business. The IBM report revealed that of the businesses who had tried and tested incident response plans saw an average total cost of a data breach that was $2.46 million less than those that experienced a breach without an IR team or a tested IR plan.

Did you know the Cyber Resilience Centre for the West Midlands was established to help small businesses tackle the threats posed by cybercrime?

Businesses in the West Midlands can sign up for a free Core Membership online and receive a welcome pack full of practical resources and tools that will help you identify your risks and vulnerabilities and the steps you can take to increase your levels of protection. Through your membership, you will also get regular updates on new threats, designed to help you stay safer.