Recently, cyber criminals have become more focused on intellectual property due to its prolonged benefits, resulting in them targeting industries such as the manufacturing sector, which is the third most targeted industry for cyber-crime.

The manufacturing industry is also not obligated to report breaches unlike the healthcare, financial, and retail sectors, therefore it is possible that there are a lot of cyber-attacks that have gone unreported, which potentially increases the risk of cyber-crime

Manufacturing organisations usually receive correspondence containing confidential information such as contracts, patents, drawings and additional private content, which must be protected. The problem is that a lot of manufacturing companies underestimate the threat of cyber-attacks, and therefore do not implement the necessary cyber security and protection that is necessary to safeguard their confidential information.

According to research from the professional services firm KPMG, 39% of UK-based CEOs are convinced that a cyber-attack is inevitable, and on a global scale nearly half of CEOs agreed with this statement. KPMG surveyed 1200 CEOs from around the world, including 150 leaders from the UK, where they were asked to discuss company challenges and future plans.

In order to protect organisations against cyber-attacks, UK CEOS discussed how a durable strategy for their cyber security is essential, as according to 74% of UK leaders, cyber security is a trust enabler. Although only 39% believe they are “very well” equipped for when a cyber-attack does occur.  

KPMG’s UK vice chair, Bernard Brown discussed how: