Food and drink manufacturers are under increasing pressure to modernise their cybersecurity. Attacks such as last year’s targeting of the world’s biggest meat processor, which saw it pay a multi-million dollar ransom after a cyber attack shut down operations, have prompted many food and drink manufacturers to address their approach to cybersecurity1.
In common with other manufacturers, food and drink operators may well be playing catch-up on cyber, perhaps one of the reasons why recent research indicated manufacturing companies are the most likely targets of these types of attack2.
Increasing automation and integration between IT and production, the use of AI and the Internet of Things in food and drink manufacturing are often happening within environments more traditionally focused on performance and safety, not security.
Demonstrably effective cybersecurity, including the ability to present your cyber risk as insurable, helps show partners you’re less likely to be a weak link in the chain.
1 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/10/worlds-biggest-meat-producer-jbs-pays-11m-cybercrime-ransom
2 https://www.zscaler.com/resources/white-papers/threatlabz-ransomware-review.pdf
Upping your resilience to cyber attacks will also involve creating plans to constantly tests the efficacy of your controls.