Manufacturing

Manufacturing is an endpoint-rich industry.

Some industrial operations can have hundreds if not thousands of endpoints, and each must be secured, maintained, updated and given a secure connection to apps and other network resources. Any organization in the manufacturing sector, including the supply chains servicing the sector, is at a high risk of cyber-attacks. As manufacturing organizations grow, they must innovate and take advantage of automation, Al and hyper connected network comms, leaving a large attack surface that cyber criminals can target.

Some Key Areas To Review

Phishing

  • Phishing attacks within the manufacturing industry are very common.
  • Suspect emails with malicious links/fraudulent attachments.
  • Web-based malware downloads that contain viruses or other malicious content.
  • Because the manufacturing industry primarily focuses on production and distribution, security can become laxed.
  • If a manufacturer has government contracts, they are a prime target for Industrial Espionage.

Supply Chain Attacks

  • Threat actors access an organization’s network via a third-party vendor or supplier.
  • In recent years, supply chain attacks within the manufacturing industry have become more prominent.
  • It can take the form of hardware, software and firmware-based supply chain attacks.

Ransomware

  • Cybercriminals can deploy ransomware on an organization’s infrastructure and hold sensitive and vital data for ransom.
  • Attackers rely on the ripple effect when manufacturing organizations have their production flow disrupted.
  • 47% of the attacks within the manufacturing industry were due to vulnerabilities that companies didn’t patch.

Industrial IoT Attacks

  • Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) devices like printers and smart TVs are at a high risk of attack.
  • Each device should have a strong, unique ID and up-to-date software. Unnecessary services and ports must be disabled.
  • Devices utilizing manufacturing processes, such as Remote Production Control and Industrial Asset Management, are at risk.
  • Network activity must be monitored to determine unauthorized use.

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Key NIST/CyberSecure Canada control points:

Mobile Computing

  • Ensure your laptop and personal digital assistant (PDA) are encrypted and password-protected.
  • If a computer or PDA uses wireless connections, ensure all wireless communications are encrypted.
  • Ensure encrypted backups are in place.
  • When using USB flash drives, use only devices that have built-in encryption and require passwords.
  • Implementation of mobile device management to deploy org-wide configuration and compliance policies.

Endpoint Detection & Response

  • Install Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) or Extended Detection & Response tools.
  • Continuously monitor end-user devices to detect and respond to cyber threats like ransomware and malware.
  • Pair comprehensive visibility across all endpoints and apply behavioural analytics to detect traces of suspicious behaviour.

Email Security

  • Use appropriate signatures and standard disclaimers on email messages, faxes and other documents.
  • Train employees on analyzing and detecting spam/phishing emails.
  • Be cautious of communicating sensitive information via email – Set up policies to apply rules when sending emails.

General

  • Perform weekly scans to ensure endpoints are up to date and unauthorized software is not installed.
  • Make regular secure backups.
  • Ensure policies are in place preventing access to restricted websites and software.
  • Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
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Fusion Computing targeted remediation:

Risk Assessments

Risk must be gauged based on factors such as probability of occurrence, impact on the organization, and risk prioritization.

Risk assessments should be conducted or reviewed regularly and at least once per year.

Security Controls

  • Anti-virus and MDR
  • Secure encrypted backups
  • Data Loss Prevention
  • Encryption at rest and in transit
  • Firewall
  • Incident Response Plan
  • Mobile Device Management
  • Policies and procedures
  • Security Awareness Training
  • Vulnerability Management
  • Multi-Factor Authentication

The CIS Critical Security Controls (CIS Controls) are a prescriptive, prioritized, and simplified set of best practices Fusion uses to strengthen your cybersecurity posture. This simplified cybersecurity approach is proven to help you defend against today’s top threats.

Testimonials

See why top employers and small business leaders say Fusion is the Best IT Company in Toronto

"I got the call no business owner wants - our systems were locked and there was a ransom demand on every screen. I called Fusion in a panic at 9pm on a Friday. They had someone working on it within the hour. By Monday morning our team walked in, sat down, and got back to work like nothing happened. Every file recovered. No ransom paid. I don't even want to think about where we'd be if we'd been with our old provider when that happened."

Sandra M.

"One of our staff had their credentials phished through a fake Microsoft login page. Fusion's monitoring picked up the suspicious login - from overseas, at 2 in the morning - and locked the account before whoever had the password could do anything with it. They called us first thing to walk us through what happened, reset everything, and added extra protections. If that had gone undetected even a few hours longer, they would have had access to our client files. I sleep better knowing someone's actually watching."

Thomas W.

"We went from 35 employees to 70 in under a year after landing two major contracts. Every new hire needed a laptop provisioned, accounts set up, security configured, and access to our project management stack - usually within 48 hours of the offer letter going out. Fusion handled every single onboarding without us having to micromanage it. Our HR team just sends them the details and it's done. That kind of responsiveness let us focus on growth instead of wrestling with IT logistics."

Priya R.

"We'd been with our previous IT provider for six years and thought everything was running well enough. Within the first week of Fusion's onboarding, they found unpatched servers, no working backups, and admin credentials that hadn't been changed since 2019. It was genuinely alarming. Fusion fixed all of it in the first 30 days and built us an actual security baseline. Looking back, we were one bad click away from a catastrophe and didn't even know it."

Derek K.

"We've been with Fusion since 2019 and the thing that still surprises me is how much they remember about our business. I don't have to re-explain our setup every time I call. They know our systems, they know our team, they know our busy seasons. Last year they proactively recommended we migrate a legacy server before it became a problem - saved us from what would have been a very expensive emergency. That's not a vendor relationship. That's a partner who's paying attention."

Michael T.

"We'd been to three different vendor presentations about AI and Copilot and every single one assumed we had a dedicated IT team, a data lake, and a six-figure budget. We have 40 people and a bookkeeper. Fusion came in, looked at what we actually do every day, and found three processes where automation would save us real hours every week. No jargon, no massive investment. They deployed Copilot for our leadership team and built a simple workflow automation that cut our month-end reporting from two days to four hours. That's the kind of AI that actually matters."

Rachel D.

"It is refreshing to work with a technology vendor that is reactive in an expedient manner to our needs as a business. Fusion takes the time to learn what your current and future goals are, offers options to help you achieve them, and make you feel like your business is valued. This partnership has allowed us to reinforce the security of all our operations, protect our customers, and increase our overall efficiency. What a great TEAM!"

Naomi Clarke

Idea Factor

"I have worked closely with Fusion over the past year and I have to say that these guys are great. They manage our Infrastructure, Virtual Machines, Backups, Security, implemented our Cloud Solution with O365 and are our IT Support for staff and desktops. They came highly recommended so I am doing the same for you."

Judie Law

"Fusion Computing has been the best IT Services provider we’ve ever had. Their managed IT services offering covers all 4 of our JP Motors locations bumper to bumper. They take the time to work with us to help us understand our budget and provide solutions from help-desk through to IT Strategy. Highly recommended!"

Ryan Pattinson

JP Motors

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