UK manufacturing sector's cyber resilience misalignments

The latest research conducted by e2e-assure has identified a discrepancy between the perceived and actual cyber resilience within the Manufacturing sector in the UK.

A significant 76% of cyber risk owners within Manufacturing believe their organisations are resilient. This perception is contradicted by 77% of Manufacturing employees who reported witnessing a colleague breach cyber security practices.

The report highlights a concerning lack of prioritisation of cyber security training for employees, with only 24% of manufacturing organisations offering such programmes. This lack of focus aligns with evidence that 82% of cyber risk owners in the sector have experienced a cyber attack, an increase from 78% in the previous year.

Despite the substantial threat of cyber attacks and ransomware, which can result in costly production and supply chain disruptions, there is a focus on external threats at the expense of internal vulnerabilities. The reliance on legacy systems, which are difficult to integrate with advanced cyber security technology, exacerbates this risk by creating coverage gaps.

A lack of knowledge among employees is hampering their ability to report incidents, with only 23% doing so. Many employees believe that cyber security is solely the responsibility of the IT team, as evidenced by 54% indicating such, compared to a mere 6% who feel it is the collective responsibility of all within the organisation.

Rob Demain, Founder and CEO of e2e-assure, commented, "With so many employees disengaged in cyber security due to a lack of focus on training, despite a high proportion of workers witnessing colleagues breach best practice, it's imperative that cyber risk owners implement training programmes that help people understand aspects of cyber security, such as the risks of AI, and the best practices for using legacy systems securely."

He further stressed, "Cyber risk owners must also seek to understand employees' behaviour around AI usage and educating them about the risks. This will serve to embed the belief that cyber security is a collective responsibility, ultimately driving up cyber resilience."

The study also draws attention to the growing challenge posed by the rising adoption of AI within Manufacturing. With 37% of employees using AI technologies such as Open AI at least weekly, there appears to be a lack of clarity about the AI policies in place, with over half of employees unaware of the specifics despite some 80% of cyber risk owners expressing confidence in these policies.

The report suggests several recommendations for improving cyber security in the sector, including tailoring training to engage employees, fostering a security awareness culture, and employing automation to reduce human error.

e2e-assure's findings are based on a survey conducted by Censuswide, involving interviews with 50 cyber risk owners and 100 employees within Manufacturing companies, and part of a broader study surveying UK office workers and IT security decision-makers. The data collected underscores the urgent need for a holistic approach to cyber resilience in the Manufacturing sector.