Cybersecurity an ‘afterthought’ in manufacturing and transport

Everyone working in the field of cybersecurity knows that security has to be baked into an organisation’s operations, from the inside-out. Cyber resilience doesn’t happen by magic, and leveraging cybersecurity tools and services doesn’t guarantee protection. 

You can’t layer security on top of everything else you do; you have to train your employees, develop comprehensive cybersecurity policies and protocols, and continuously monitor your entire network to ensure that vulnerabilities are identified and patched quickly. 

And yet outside of the cybersecurity sector, many industries are failing to achieve their potential when it comes to cyber resilience. 

Cybersecurity is an ‘afterthought’ in transportation and manufacturing 

New reports by LevelBlue Research have found that cybersecurity is an ‘afterthought’ within manufacturing and transportation organisations. 

The reports describe the challenges these industries are experiencing as they try to balance technological innovation with cyber resilience in an increasingly complex threat landscape. And their findings suggest that leaders in the manufacturing and transportation industries are becoming less risk averse as they grapple with dynamic computing – they’re playing catch-up, with reactive budgeting and siloed information, and security is falling to the bottom of their priorities. 

The research uses data from a survey conducted by FT Longitude in March 2024. A total of 1,050 C-suite and senior executives were surveyed, across 18 countries and seven industries. And all respondents were working in a range of cybersecurity-related roles; from C-level security leadership to entry-level roles. 

The report’s key findings, in numbers 

• 69% of manufacturing leaders and 73% of transportation leaders said the opportunity of dynamic computing innovation outweighs the related increase in cybersecurity risk.
• 71% of manufacturing and 69% of transportation respondents said that cyber resilience is the primary responsibility of cybersecurity teams – not a priority for the enterprise as a whole.
• Only 48% of manufacturing and 53% of transportation executives reported that cybersecurity is included in corporate strategy work.
• In spite of lowered levels of risk aversion, 64% of manufacturing and 69% of transportation respondents were cautious about AI adoption.
•  73% of manufacturing and 70% of transportation leaders said they’re struggling to find the external support they need to thrive post-digital transformation.
• 66% of manufacturing and transportation respondents believe that cybersecurity is an afterthought in their organisations.
• 78% of manufacturing organisations and 73% of transportation organisations said their cybersecurity budgets are reactive, not proactive.
• 35% of manufacturing and 33% of transportation respondents said their organisations are outsourcing their cybersecurity needs via cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) providers. 

Putting cybersecurity last is a barrier to cyber resilience 

In terms of innovation, we’ve put our foot firmly on the accelerator. This has positive implications across industries; but in manufacturing and transport, the acceleration is causing leaders to neglect the critical importance of bringing cybersecurity up-to-speed with innovation. They’re embracing the opportunities and the benefits of evolving technologies without protecting their organisations from increased risk of attack. 

Theresa Lanowitz (Chief Evangelist at LevelBlue) told Business Wire:

“While cyberattacks are on the rise with associated costs climbing, increasing cyber resilience across industries still remains a low priority for business executives. As digital innovation takes centre stage, cyber resilience will be crucial to earning and upholding stakeholder trust.”

If you’re a C-suite leader in a manufacturing or transportation organisation, now is the time to act. Cyber resilience requires a comprehensive approach to security that incorporates tooling with soft skills and human awareness programmes. Reacting after a breach, rather than working proactively to implement robust preventative measures, means you’re exposing your organisation (and every other organisation and individual you interact with) to increased risk. 

Register now to attend Black Hat MEA 2024 and discover the research and partners you need to build robust cybersecurity systems for your business.