RETAIL MANUFACTURING
RETAIL MANUFACTURING
Retailers Are – And Always Have Been – Attractive Targets
Why the Retail Manufacturing Industry
Needs Information Security
Cyber threats are an entirely different breed of risk for retail manufacturing when compared to other industries. Most industries are not faced with cyber threats to the flow of materials, parts, assemblies, and client data. Manufacturing institutions need to make sure all suppliers of materials are reputable and qualified for the chain of custody, process conditions, data integrity, and overall security of the system.
Cybersecurity is essential in the retail manufacturing industry because disruptions to the process, and the flow of goods affects other sectors outside of manufacturing. Cyberattacks can also lead to increased prices on retail products, which consumers are not always willing to pay. Another consequence of inadequate cybersecurity resulting in a damaging cyberattack is the loss of trust. Consumers do not value a company that exposes their personal information, and the manufacturer will lose any brand loyalty they once had with their customers.
What Can Happen
When You’re Unprotected
Retail factories are always operating, which complicates cybersecurity and opens the factories to increased cyber threats. Cybercriminals can attack a manufacturer with the same techniques they use elsewhere, including malware, ransomware, and distributed denial of service (DDoS). Criminals hope to gain access to the factory systems and any client or customer data they have on file.
If a customer orders a product online, and the billing information is sent to the manufacturer, the data is then at risk if the manufacturer does not have adequate security standards in place. If a manufacturer is attacked, their entire system can be disrupted, leading to loss of control in the market and increased costs, which are then passed on to the customer.
Manufacturers can implement quality cybersecurity practices by identifying the information that is most at risk, determining where that information is located, and then shoring up the security at those points of access. The information should also be labeled to help employees identify and better protect it. Finally, widespread education across the organization is essential for better cybersecurity, even in a factory. The more the employees understand potential cyberattacks and what type of cybersecurity is used, the more likely they are to deter cybercriminals.
What Can Your Organization Do?
An effective security program will require top-down commitment. Our security executives align themselves to the needs of your business and take proactive steps to ensure that executive leadership understand the importance of security to the organization.
ESTABLISH IT GOVERNANCE
Establishing an IT governance program that integrates people, processes and technology is vital to delivering the foundation of security needed to drive business innovation while mitigating risk, reducing operational costs and easing the burden of regulation.
NEUTRALIZE THIRD-PARTY RISK
Because people are often the weakest link in the security chain, employee training is a fundamental component of every program. Retailers should look to cultivate a culture of security through employee awareness and training programs. A best practice is to educate employees both in terms of business IT security and personal IT security – the crossover between the two is too large to ignore personal security behavior.
INVEST IN TRAINING
Retailers should look to evaluate third-parties based on the risk they present to the business. Because self-certification processes are proving less reliable, retailers are encouraged to shift to active cyber-risk monitoring and mitigation with third parties in order to neutralize third-party risk.
COMMIT TO ONGOING INVESTMENT
Compared to industries such as financial services, manufacturing or media and entertainment, retail traditionally places a much lower priority on IT Security. Faced with a need to cut costs and make a profit against slim margins, most retailers opt for meeting the basic standards set forth by the payments card industry. A key finding from a survey shows that information security is a mere 3.7% of the IT budget. In order to get ahead of the threats retailers must step up and commit to ongoing investment.
Get In Touch with an Expert.
Don't get caught unprotected
Without adequate cybersecurity on all systems, manufacturers are more likely to be hacked and bombarded with a wide range of attacks that can cause severe damage to their systems. There are several tools that retail manufacturers can utilize to protect their and customers’ information. Without these tools in place, the risk of attack is too high, and the consequences too grave.