60% of manufacturers target full digitalisation as cyber risks grow

As factories increasingly rely on digital systems, cyberattacks are emerging as a significant business risk, capable of halting production for hours and causing losses exceeding $1 million. According to a report by Kaspersky and VDC Strategy, 60% of industrial companies anticipate becoming fully digital within the next two years, up from just 9% currently.

The rapid shift towards digitalization is reshaping factory operations and the risks manufacturers face. Improving production volumes or operational efficiency is the primary driver for 24% of manufacturers, followed by cost reduction (15%) and creating new strategic opportunities (14%). Around 13% of respondents highlighted enhancing cyber resilience as a key reason for their digital transformation.

Connecting production equipment with digital systems like Manufacturing Execution Systems, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, sensors, and automated equipment can boost efficiency but also mean that a cyber incident can directly impact factory operations. Nearly 60% of surveyed manufacturing organizations reported that cyber incidents resulted in losses surpassing $1 million, with average downtime following an incident clocking in at 15.3 hours.

Much of the financial impact stems from halted production, missed deliveries, and penalties rather than merely the cost of investigating the cyberattack. An attack could disrupt production lines, affect ongoing work, compromise quality and traceability records, and require manufacturers to verify the reliability of production processes and records before resuming operations.

While IT departments handle security policies in 59% of organizations, these policies may not always cater to the unique needs of factory environments. Managing numerous cybersecurity tools poses a challenge for 44% of organizations, and updating Operational Technology systems is difficult for 38%. Andrey Strelkov, Head of Industrial Cybersecurity Product Line at Kaspersky, stated that the focus is shifting beyond merely preventing attacks to minimizing operational impact and expediting recovery.

As manufacturers continue their digital transformation, the report emphasizes that cybersecurity must be integrated into everyday production planning to safeguard operations, reduce downtime, and facilitate quicker recovery in case of incidents.