several Cyber Security Awareness Month activities, raising awareness among manufacturers regarding threats attached to breach of security controls.
According to NGen’s chief executive Jayson Myers, led ears of manufacturing companies in the country have failed to address cyber security with the required level of seriousness, saying that there is a high degree of complacency. “I don’t think most companies have an overall view of the risks they could potentially face. And I don’t think most have a risk mitigation system in place – not just a plan, but the procedures, training and everything else – that can effectively assure senior management that their potential [cyber] risk is going to be adequately and appropriately taken care of,” he noted.
Following a recent survey conducted by the organisation, with the participation of 500 owners and senior executives of small manufacturers, it was revealed that over the past 12 months 63 per cent of the companies had suffered a cyber-security attack although 93 per cent of the participants believed they had done enough to protect themselves against such threats. Meanwhile, only 35 per cent of their organisations had an incident response plan, and those who claimed to be unconcerned about cyber security amounted 20 per cent of the participants.
Accordingly, Myers warned that as manufacturing processes continue to encounter the ongoing digital transformation, the risks are increasing exponentially. “Companies have to become more aware of how they are using it (cyber security) in the future and to get more prepared around this,” he said.
