Smart factory cyberattacks expected to increase, report shows

Despite this, the report also showed that nearly half (47 per cent) of manufacturers said cybersecurity in their smart factories was not a C-level concern.

According to the report, ‘Smart & Secure: Why smart factories need to prioritise cybersecurity’, few manufacturers have sufficiently mature cybersecurity practices whilst the connected nature of smart factories exponentially increases risk of attack.

Around 53 per cent of organisations, including 60 per cent of heavy-industry and 56 per cent of pharma and life sciences firms, agreed that most future cyberthreats will feature smart factories as their primary targets. 

However, a high level of awareness doesn’t automatically translate to business preparedness, the report suggests — a lack of C-suite focus, limited budget and human factors were noted as the top cybersecurity challenges for manufacturers to overcome.

“The benefits of digital transformation make manufacturers want to invest heavily in smart factories, but efforts could be undone in the blink of an eye if cybersecurity is not baked-in from the offset,” said Geert van der Linden, cybersecurity business lead at Capgemini.