Despite decades of investment in cybersecurity, attackers continue to disrupt manufacturing operations, compromise critical systems, and cost companies millions. If you’re a manufacturing executive, this isn’t just an IT problem – it’s a business continuity, compliance, and leadership issue.
Yet even the most sophisticated manufacturers continue to overlook one of the most dangerous risks in their environment: The assumption that the inside of their network is safe.
The Perimeter Is No Longer the Battleground
Most security investments focus on keeping attackers out – identity access controls, VPNs, endpoint protection, and firewalls. But what happens when someone gets past those defenses?
In today's landscape, attackers don’t smash and grab. They log in, lie low, and move laterally. Once inside, they slowly escalate privileges, explore your internal environment, and quietly work their way to the systems that matter most – production lines, ERP systems, proprietary designs, and sensitive customer data. In manufacturing, the consequences are amplified:
- Production downtime.
- Supply chain disruption.
- Loss of intellectual property.
- Regulatory penalties under new SEC breach disclosure rules
Attackers Are Using AI – Are You Ready?
The cybersecurity threat isn’t just growing – it’s evolving. Modern attackers are increasingly using AI and automation to move stealthily through networks and avoid detection. These aren’t just smarter attacks – they’re strategically quiet and built to defeat traditional defenses.
AI helps attackers:
- Mimic normal user behavior to avoid triggering rules-based alerts.
- Move laterally at a slow pace, evading time-based anomaly detection.
- Dynamically mutate malware to avoid signature-based systems.
- Automate privilege escalation by mapping access pathways.
- Obfuscate communication channels with encrypted or cloud-based command and control.
- Exploit unmanaged OT and IoT devices that perimeter tools don’t cover.
Many of today’s breaches don’t use malware at all. Instead, attackers "live off the land", using legitimate tools and access to quietly work their way through internal systems. This level of stealth is especially dangerous in manufacturing environments, where internal networks are often flat, visibility is limited, and legacy systems abound.
Manufacturers face a perfect storm of:
- Unmanaged OT systems that can’t run agents or antivirus software.
- Legacy hardware and flat networks that are difficult to segment.
- Dispersed environments across plants, facilities and suppliers.
- Workforce constraints that make around-the-clock monitoring difficult
As a result, attackers exploit these gaps, using stealthy techniques to move undetected through production networks.
Regulation Is Catching Up
The SEC’s new breach disclosure rules, which went into effect in December 2023, require public companies to report “material cybersecurity incidents” within just four business days of determining materiality. If you don’t have real-time internal visibility, how would you even know an incident occurred – let alone whether it was material?
Regulators and insurance carriers are no longer satisfied with box-checking. They want evidence that companies can see inside their networks, detect unusual behavior, and respond decisively. This isn’t about buying more tools. It’s about asking the right strategic questions:
- Do we have real-time visibility inside our network – not just at the perimeter?
- Can we detect unusual behavior, lateral movement, or privilege escalation?
- How quickly would we know if an attacker accessed a high-value system?
- Are our OT and IoT assets monitored, or are they invisible to security?
- Can we segment or isolate parts of our network if needed – instantly?
If you don’t like the answers, you’re not alone. Many manufacturers are in the same place – which is why rethinking internal cybersecurity is now a board-level priority.
The age of blind trust is over. Just like you wouldn’t leave physical doors unlocked on the factory floor, you can’t afford to assume everything “inside the network” is safe. Modern threats require internal visibility, behavioral detection, and dynamic containment – not just perimeter defenses. That doesn’t mean adding more complexity. It means deploying smarter, unified solutions that work the way manufacturers operate: fast, lean, and built for hybrid environments.
In a world where attackers don’t break in – they log in, the real question is: Will you see them before it’s too late?
Bob Moul is the co-founder and CEO of Enigma Networks, a cybersecurity company focused on Zero Trust for Internal Networks (ZTNX).
