For manufacturing organizations, the introduction of Industry 4.0 and rapid digital transformation have led to remarkable efficiencies but have also expanded the attack surface for organizations and created significant vulnerabilities. In recent years, manufacturing cybersecurity leaders have been challenged with cyberattacks that disrupt critical operations and compromise intellectual property, leading to substantial financial consequences.
In a study conducted by Make UK, The Manufacturers' Organization, in collaboration with BlackBerry a staggering 42% of British manufacturers has fallen victim to cybercrime in the past year.
Moreover, security leaders at manufacturing organizations are struggling to detect, contain and respond to many cyber threats, such as:
- Ransomware Attacks: These attacks aim to disrupt vital processes, disable automation systems, and impede assembly line management applications.
- Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Protecting against third-party supply chain cyberattacks is paramount since these attacks can lead to severe supply chain or procurement penalties and even the loss of customer loyalty.
- Doubts in Smaller Supply Chain Partners:
Manufacturers often grapple with a lack of confidence in the cybersecurity preparedness of smaller supply chain partners, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in the broader network.
- Security Amid Acquisitions: Managing cybersecurity during the acquisition of smaller manufacturing operations poses a unique challenge so it’s critical to ensure a seamless transition without compromising on conducting due diligence for cybersecurity.
- IP Theft: The risk of intellectual property theft, including patent information and proprietary manufacturing processes, can benefit counterfeit producers and erode an organization's enterprise value and market share.
Most manufacturing organizations don’t have the in-house expertise and 24/7 coverage to address these cyber risks and need to look to MDR providers that can proactively detect, disrupt, and remediate cyber threats on their behalf before early stage cyberattacks escalate into potentially business-crippling events or trigger punitive procurement penalties.
Additional data from the Make UK and BlackBerry study also revealed that a significant portion of manufacturers have not bolstered their cybersecurity measures, despite investments in digital transformation and connectivity. Alarmingly, nearly 50% of manufacturers find themselves compelled to demonstrate the robustness of their cybersecurity processes as part of contracts and business agreements.
Considering the risks many manufacturers are facing, investing in a robust 24/7 threat detection and response solution is no longer a choice – it's a necessity.
As such, many forward-thinking security leaders in the manufacturing sector are turning to Microsoft's robust security solutions to maximize their existing investment in the Microsoft ecosystem. By leveraging Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Defender for Cloud Apps and Identity, and Defender for Endpoint, you can strengthen your organization with 24/7 threat detection and response capabilities across your environment while consolidating your cybersecurity tool stack to do more with less.
In this blog, we explore how Microsoft’s suite of security tools can help your manufacturing organization stay ahead of the threat curve and mitigate even the most sophisticated cyberattacks.
Why Manufacturing Organizations Need Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Manufacturing companies conduct business with hundreds of vendors on a daily basis, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, etc. Threat actors can take advantage of this large web of third-party supply chain vendors using social engineering tactics, such as email thread hijacking, phishing scams, and business email compromise (BEC) attacks.
Some common examples of BEC and social engineering tactics targeting manufacturing companies include:
Example #1: “Pay this urgent bill.”
Threat actors often send fake overdue invoices to members of your finance department from email addresses that are spoofed to look like they come from your CFO or even one of your third-party suppliers. The emails are often written to convey a sense of urgency and more importantly, may mimic the language and writing style of the person they’re spoofing to make the email seem more legitimate.
Example #2: “Can you send me these documents ASAP?”
In this scenario, threat actors can use a phishing tactic called email thread hijacking, in which the threat actor inserts their malicious emails within legitimate email threads obtained by exfiltrating the mailboxes from compromised hosts. Since the email was formerly part of a legitimate conversation, it’s much less likely to arouse suspicion. This tactic has been observed on several occasions to deliver information stealing malware like Qakbot.
As a result, manufacturing organizations need advanced visibility to protect their assets and maintain business operations. Here’s how Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can help you secure your organization from phishing and BEC threats:
- Anti-Phishing and Anti-Spoofing: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 employs advanced anti-phishing and anti-spoofing mechanisms to identify malicious emails and prevent them from reaching users' inboxes. It analyzes sender behavior, message content, and other attributes to identify potential threats.
- Email Authentication: The solution supports email authentication protocols such as Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) to prevent email spoofing. By configuring DMARC policies, manufacturing companies can ensure that only legitimate emails from authorized senders are delivered.
- AI-Driven Threat Detection: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 utilizes AI and machine learning to detect patterns indicative of BEC attacks. It analyzes communication patterns and identifies anomalies, such as sudden changes in sender behavior or email content, which could indicate a fraudulent attempt.
- Response and Remediation: Automated investigation & response (AIR) in Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides playbooks to automatically investigate threats.
Why Manufacturing Organizations Need Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Endpoint security is crucial for protecting all the devices and endpoints within a manufacturing ecosystem, especially considering the increasing demand for production. Your laptops, phones, desktops, servers, industrial control systems (ICS), and IoT devices are all potential gateways for threat actors to gain access to your environment.
Here are some ways MSFT Defender for Endpoint can protect your endpoints:
- Unified Security Across Environments: Manufacturing companies often operate in hybrid environments with a mix of on-premises and cloud systems. Defender for Endpoint provides a unified security solution that covers both traditional endpoints and cloud-based resources, ensuring consistent protection across the entire infrastructure.
- Comprehensive Threat Detection: Manufacturing environments can be vulnerable to a wide range of cyber threats due to their valuable intellectual property and interconnected systems. Defender for Endpoint employs advanced threat detection techniques, including behavioral analytics and machine learning, to identify and respond to emerging threats in real-time.
- Advanced Ransomware Protection: Ransomware attacks can severely disrupt manufacturing operations. Defender for Endpoint incorporates robust ransomware protection mechanisms, such as tamper protection and controlled folder access, which safeguard critical data and prevent unauthorized encryption.
- Real-time Response and Investigation: Quick response to security incidents is crucial in manufacturing. Defender for Endpoint offers real-time incident response capabilities, allowing security teams to investigate and remediate threats promptly, minimizing potential downtime and impact on production.
- Protection for Industrial IoT Devices: Manufacturing relies heavily on Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices. Defender for Endpoint provides protection for these devices, securing sensors, controllers, and other connected machinery against potential cyber threats.
- Application Control and Whitelisting: In manufacturing, unauthorized software can lead to operational disruptions. Defender for Endpoint enables application control and whitelisting, ensuring that only approved software runs on endpoints, reducing the risk of malware infections.
- Regulatory Compliance: Manufacturing is subject to various industry regulations and standards. Defender for Endpoint helps meet compliance requirements by offering features like data loss prevention, audit trails, and reporting, ensuring adherence to regulatory mandates.
- Centralized Management: With manufacturing facilities often spread out geographically, centralized management is crucial. Defender for Endpoint provides a single dashboard for managing security policies, monitoring threats, and responding to incidents across multiple locations.
- Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: Manufacturing companies that already use Microsoft technologies benefit from seamless integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. Defender for Endpoint integrates well with other Microsoft security solutions, enhancing overall security effectiveness.
Why Manufacturing Organizations Need MSFT Defender for CloudApps and Identity
Today’s manufacturing environment is more complex than ever before. A typical manufacturing environment today comprises of on-premises workstations, servers, multi-cloud workloads, and SaaS applications – all as a part of IR 4.0!
While IR 4.0 is the future for the manufacturing industry, sophisticated threat actors view it as an expanded attack surface with vulnerable systems and valuable data. Threat actors are increasingly targeting cloud-based SaaS applications by leveraging sophisticated methods like lateral movement within cloud environments to gain persistence and expand their reach across an organization’s infrastructure. Once inside, they can exfiltrate data, manipulate resources, launch ransomware attacks, or even disrupt critical business operations.
Here are some key features of Defender for Cloud Apps and Identity:
- 24/7 Threat Monitoring and Response: Manufacturing firms often deal with complex networks that include both IT and OT components. With 24/7 threat monitoring and response, any suspicious activities can be immediately isolated, protecting critical systems from potential breaches and minimizing operational disruption.
- User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA):
The machine learning driven UEBA feature is invaluable in detecting anomalies in user behavior within manufacturing operations. By identifying unusual patterns that might signal identity-based attacks or unauthorized access attempts, manufacturers can swiftly respond and mitigate risks before they escalate.
- Conditional Access: With a diverse workforce and varying levels of access required across multiple SaaS applications, manufacturing firms can benefit greatly from conditional access. This feature ensures that only authorized personnel with appropriate context can access critical applications, bolstering security against unauthorized access.
- Information Protection: Manufacturing companies handle sensitive data such as product designs, manufacturing processes, and customer information. Information protection features prevent data leaks and unauthorized exposure by automatically classifying and encrypting sensitive data, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations.
- Compliance: Regulatory compliance is paramount for manufacturing firms due to industry-specific standards. Microsoft Defender's compliance features assist in meeting these requirements by offering audit trails, reports, and tools that facilitate adherence to standards such as NIST, ISO, and industry-specific regulations.
- Threat Intelligence: Manufacturing environments are susceptible to both known and emerging threats due to their interconnectedness and reliance on technology. Threat intelligence provides real-time insights into evolving threats, allowing manufacturing firms to proactively adopt countermeasures and safeguard their operations.
Engage an External MDR for Microsoft Provider to Maximize Your Microsoft Investment
Once you’re ready to take advantage of the cybersecurity capabilities available as part of Microsoft’s security suite, it’s important to assess whether you want to take a DIY approach or engage an external Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider to manage your new toolset.
For many teams, taking a DIY approach isn’t realistic given the level of security expertise and resources you need in-house that needs to be able to provide 24/7 coverage. Therefore, we recommend engaging an MDR provider that can provide you with complete visibility across your Microsoft ecosystem, 24/7 threat detection and investigation, and complete response capabilities to reduce the risk of business disruption.
Prior to engaging the MDR provider, consider whether they hold any Microsoft Security Competency certifications that represent their expertise in managing and working with the platform. We recommend choosing an MDR provider that is a Microsoft Security Solutions Partner and one that belongs to the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) and has achieved Microsoft verified Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) solution status.
Learn how eSentire MDR for Microsoft can help your team stop cyber threats across your Microsoft ecosystem by booking a meeting with an eSentire cybersecurity specialist.
