Safeguarding Manufacturing: Data Security Control
The Vulnerabilities.
Manufacturing involves multiple tiers of suppliers providing components that come together to create the end product. Each tier is an exercise in unique processes to the manufacturer and their third-party suppliers’ raw materials, production, inventory, and distribution. This complicated convergence of players, processes, and data creates a wicked infrastructure security problem.
Key Risks:
- IoT devices
- Connected products
- Cloud security
- Third-parties
- Inadequate encryption management
Unfortunately, advanced cyberattacks on manufacturing architectures are increasingly disruptive to business — exposing customer data, intellectual property, digital communications, and other vital data while costing companies and consumers hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
The Solution.
Gone are the days where perimeter security would suffice. Whether it is customer data, automated shop floor technology, or a vendor’s list of raw materials, access to valuable data must be governed by security concepts that extend far beyond the facility’s walls.
Zero trust architecture must be implemented to protect data from product inception to final delivery. This strategy begins with encryption that knows no boundaries, sufficient access control, and robust encryption key management applied through the entire lifecycle of the product.
The myriad of technologies, networks, and suppliers utilized by the manufacturing industry nearly outnumbers the variety of products they deliver. From small office applications and wireless robotic transmissions to tracking transportation or a customer’s receipt of goods, the entire manufacturing process is a rapidly changing environment that relies on efficient and secure supply chain management. This security must include data while being stored, in motion, in transit, in the cloud, and when accessed by third parties.
Gartner recently said it best: “Develop an Enterprise-wide Encryption Key Management Strategy or Lose the Data.” Encryption key management done correctly is rooted in zero trust architecture and simplifies data security policy through encryption and access enforcement across the entire manufacturing supply ecosystem.
As sensitive data is stored or transferred between vendors and customers, it remains encrypted and only appears legible to authorized users. However, for encryption to stay effective, it requires regular rotation and management of the encryption keys. Standard rotation is an impossible task to do manually on the scale necessary to protect any manufacturing enterprise. Yet, many continue to try, leading to devastating consequences from entirely preventable human error.
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Fornetix® VaultCoreTM provides a critical layer of protection for the manufacturing industry. Whether data is at rest, in transit, or in the cloud, VaultCore helps ensure all data remains secure. VaultCore’s centralized, automated, and highly scalable cryptographic operations platform and encryption key management solution works across the entire manufacturing ecosystem, including connected devices. Rooted in zero trust architecture, VaultCore’s powerful policy deployment tools and robust device authentication have proven effective at securing data and mitigating harmful attacks on the manufacturing supply chain. The key benefit of VaultCore is providing alignment and governance in a standards-based model with a focus on API-based integration and interoperability. VaultCore’s combination of scale and zero trust architecture is ideal for multi-tiered manufacturing where data protection is expected to cross organizational boundaries.
Fornetix can work with you to avoid the most common manufacturing data security pitfalls and adopt a resilient, scalable, secure solution to protect your data and keep your facility running smoothly. Click for a FREE demo.
