Cybersecurity should be viewed as a workplace safety issue, as increasingly connected automation systems can pose a personnel risk in the most extreme cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity in industrial automation doesn’t get the attention it deserves despite the growing security risks inherent in every computer system. Cyberattacks on industrial control system (ICS) computers are growing in the United States and other global regions. In its “OT: Cybersecurity 2023 Year in Review,” industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos reports that the threat landscape for operational technologies is getting more dangerous as “rising tensions and financial opportunity continued to spur a wide variety of actors to target industrial environments.”

The risks of a cyberattack on a manufacturing facility are severe. As such, it’s critical for these facilities to develop documented cybersecurity plans. Due to the complexity of cybersecurity, it’s imperative that companies consider using experts to conduct a risk assessment and make control recommendations that harden the facility and its production lines against potential threats.