Second only to health care, the manufacturing industry is now one of the most frequently hacked industries (according to IBM’s 2016 Cyber Security Intelligence Index). And more importantly, automotive manufacturing was the top targeted manufacturing sub-industry, accounting for almost 30% of the total attacks against manufacturers in 2015. Security incidents were up a whopping 66% in 2015, from the year prior. So if you’re not already taking your organization’s cybersecurity seriously – you should be, starting now.
What You Should Know
The most common cybersecurity incident occurs from unauthorized access. Now more than ever, attackers are launching spear phishing campaigns. But here’s what you might not know…according to IBM, 60% of all attackers are “insiders.” Meaning an employee you trust could be initiating the attack. While no organization wants to think their employee is a potential hacker, and most employees aren’t, it’s important to protect yourself from a potential hack and equally important to have a plan in place if an attack happens (regardless of who initiated it).
What You Should Do
As Foley attorney James R. Kalyvas has detailed, having an effective cybersecurity program is a critical aspect of any business, and particularly in the manufacturing industry. The cornerstones of a rigorous cybersecurity program, include: employee education; an incident response plan in the event of a security breach; ensuring user privileges are appropriately managed and limited; restricting and limiting use of removable media; monitoring access to the company’s system; use of network security tools such as firewalls and malware detection; and insurance coverage for the financial consequences of a security breach.
What’s Next
No doubt cybersecurity will remain a challenge for the automotive industry in 2016 and beyond – stay tuned to Dashboard Insights as we’ll continue to report on this important trend.
