The call follows EEF research that found almost half of manufacturers have failed to increase their investment in cybersecurity in the past two years.
Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF, said:
“As technology and data start to play increasingly critical roles in manufacturing, companies will inevitably find themselves more vulnerable to cyber breaches. Our survey highlights that investment in new technology isn’t being matched by investment in managing risks, especially among smaller firms.”
Nearly a quarter (20%) of manufacturers failed to alert employees to cyber risks in company policies, the EEF research found. Just over one third (36%) of manufacturers had an incident response plan in place and only 24% monitor cyber threats through business KPIs.
The findings follow government figures showing that 90% of large businesses and 74% of small businesses reported a cyber security breach in 2015. The breaches cost between £1.46 million to £3.14 million for a large firm and £75,000 to £311,000 for a small business.
Hopley added: “Technology is set to transform our industry as part of the 4th industrial revolution, opening up immense opportunities and possibilities but risks run alongside the rewards. It is important that manufacturers are able to identify, understand and put the correct strategies in place to keep their businesses safe and cyber secure.”
