Cyber Security

Is cybersecurity something you need to worry about as a small or medium manufacturer?

Why Cybersecurity Matters

Small and medium manufacturers are a vital part of our nation’s economic and cyber infrastructure. Unfortunately, for many of them, the security of their information, systems, and networks does not receive the highest priority. But an information security or cybersecurity incident can be extremely detrimental to the business, their customers, partners, and suppliers.

The average cost of data breach for small companies in 2015 was $38,000. In addition, it has been estimated that more than half of the companies go out of business within six months of a cyber attack. It’s important that manufacturers understand and manage the risk and establish a cybersecurity protocol to protect their most critical assets.

What Can Be Done?

Due to the increasing number of cybersecurity attacks, manufacturers can improve resilience by making sure their risk management processes contains comprehensive recovery planning. However, there has been widespread acknowledgment that some of these cybersecurity attacks cannot be stopped and solely focusing on preventing attacks from occurring is not the right approach. Manufacturers should improve their prevention capabilities with modern technology and tools while building up their cyber attack detection and response capabilities.

Cybersecurity Framework

Recovery is one part of the risk management process lifecycle. For example, the Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, better known as the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) defines five functions: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover.

How We Can Help

“Reports of massive data breaches among small businesses are becoming increasingly more common and affect the growth and development of our economy,” said AEDC Executive Director Mike Preston. “While cybersecurity is a concern among all businesses, the majority of all targeted cyberattacks in the past year were directed at small and mid-sized businesses. It is especially threatening to these businesses, about 60 percent of which have been reported to go out of business within six months of the attack. We want to do whatever we can to keep Arkansas’ small businesses safe so they can continue to grow and reach their full potential.”

Manufacturing Solutions works closely with NIST MEP, universities, and private industries to help small and medium manufacturers navigate their cybersecurity issues.

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