The rise of developing technologies has made it more complex than ever before to protect your facility against cyber threats. In fact, many new advancements, like 5G wireless and cloud services, have actually created more vulnerable space for cyber attacks to occur. Manufacturers across the map are working diligently to build up their cybersecurity efforts and protect their facilities as best they can.
The world is rapidly becoming more connected, and the manufacturing industry is no stranger to this. With more and more digital ground to cover, how will the industry handle cybersecurity efforts in 2020? Here’s a closer look at what you can do to optimize cybersecurity in your facility this year and keep your company safe.
Strengthen Cybersecurity with Artificial Intelligence
AI is projected to drastically improve cybersecurity methods in 2020. AI allows employees to take a step back and rely on autonomous programs to do the work for them, which eliminates the risk of human error. Some of the major ways AI can help optimize cybersecurity include:
- Detecting security threats
- Automating security operations
- Avoiding supply chain corruption by controlling access to data
- Find potential vulnerabilities and plug into those areas
Investing in AI for cybersecurity can ultimately save companies time, money and resources in the long run. It also has the potential to save facilities from dangerous security breaches that may not be caught as quickly by human employees. Employing AI will ultimately optimize your cybersecurity efforts and ensure they are running as efficiently as possible.
Attackers Are Moving to the Cloud
As the cloud becomes more readily available to manufacturers, it is also easier for hackers to break into. The cloud offers a new space for data and information to be stored, but often at the risk of vulnerability. Based on the design of the cloud, cyber-attacks will become less complex for criminals to finesse and ultimately more frequent. However, manufacturers should not ditch the cloud altogether. Instead, efforts should be focused on reviewing their current cyber protocols and potentially change their policies and infrastructure to cover all of their cyber bases.
Look Out for Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that threatens to publish private data or block access unless paid ransom for it. While this threat took hold of the industry in 2019, it continues to grow at an alarming rate. Ransomware breaches have longevity behind them, as well as the potential to cause serious financial damage to companies. While this trend is projected to negatively impact a lot of facilities in 2020, there are measures that companies can take to avoid these attacks.
Recently, the Department of Defense has released the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) to ensure the right levels of cybersecurity controls are in place to protect controlled unclassified information. Department of Defense contractors adopt these standards based on the NIST SP 800-171 cybersecurity framework, which is part of a government-led effort to protect the U.S. from foreign and domestic cyber threats. Many companies are taking the initiatives to become certified and make this new framework an industry standard for protection.
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