Cybersecurity Resources for Manufacturers

We compiled this list of resources to help you learn more about the importance of planning and implementing cybersecurity measures. Then, when you are ready to take action, IMEC is poised to help you define cybersecurity opportunities, scout technology options, and find the right solution for your investment. Contact us at info@imec.org.

Articles from Manufacturing, Security and Business Magazines

• Manufacturers’ Other Pandemic Problem: Cybersecurity (The Illinois Manufacturer) – scroll down to page 20 in the PDF to read this specific article.
• Top Cybersecurity Risks Manufacturers Face Today (Plant Services Magazine)
• The ROI in preventing Cybersecurity Breaches (Industry Today)
• Connected Risk (Manufacturing Today)
• The Importance of Data Security in Manufacturing (Manufacturing Technology Insights)
• 16 Essential Questions an Effective Cybersecurity Assessment Must Answer (Forbes)
• Cybersecurity 101 – Six Basic Fixes to Hackproof Your Factory (Industry Week)
• The Cybersecurity Steps Top Manufacturers Require (Industry Today)
• How to Implement a Successful Security Plan (CIO Magazine)
• How to Implement Cybersecurity in Manufacturing (Manufacturing Technology Insights)
• ISO Issues Guide to Prevent Cyberattacks (Assembly Magazine)
• America-First Cybersecurity Must Precede Manufacturing (Industry Today)
• Challenges Associated with Manufacturing Cybersecurity (Industry Today)
• Why Cyber Criminals Target Manufacturers and What to Do About It (Security Magazine)
• The 5 Most Common Cybersecurity Threats to Manufacturers (Industry Week)

Infographics

• How Secure Is Your Factory Floor? (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
• Top remote access threats in manufacturing (SecureLink)

E-books and Whitepapers

If you are interested in doing more in-depth reading, e-books and whitepapers can be helpful guides. Here are a few we found online:

• Cybersecurity, a playbook from the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, is geared toward small and medium manufacturers.
• Cybersecurity for Smart Factories covers tools for managing cyber threats to manufacturing. It is jointly authored by Deloitte and The Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI).
• Cyber Risk in Advanced Manufacturing is another resource jointly authored by Deloitte and MAPI. Its content touches on six key themes: (1) Executive and Board Level Management, (2) Talent and Human Capital, (3) Intellectual Property, (4) Industrial Control Systems, (5) Connected Products and (6) the Industrial Ecosystem.
• How to Protect Your Business Against Cyber Risks focuses on the cyber risks faced in manufacturing operations and factories, industrial control systems and connected industrial devices. It is offered by CGI, an IT and business consulting services firm.
•  What Executives Need to Know About Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity entices you to explore questions about your company’s exposure to industrial control systems cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It is authored by the International Society of Automation.
• Manufacturing 4.0: a Playbook for Navigating the Journey to IT Modernization & Transformation was developed by Frost & Sullivan, a growth strategy consulting and research firm. It addresses cybersecurity and other critical issues in today’s manufacturing ecosystems.
• The Hiring Guide: Cybersecurity in Manufacturing is a playbook offered by MxD (Manufacturing x Digital), which works in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense. This guide describes 247 job roles, recommends how to train and upskill workers to handle these jobs, and breaks out detailed descriptions for three specific roles crucial to the future of cybersecurity.
  

In-Person Learning

• The National Center for Cybersecurity in Manufacturing is a state-of-the-art innovation center located near downtown Chicago. The facility has a 22,000-square-foot factory floor that is used to test and demonstrate cybersecurity technology, train manufacturing workforces on these new systems and tools, and demonstrate the need for cybersecurity in manufacturing.

Virtual Events

• Cybersecurity for Manufacturing Summit – This event, hosted by Manusec USA and other leading technology organizations, will take place in Chicago during October 5-6, 2021. The purpose of the summit is to explores solutions to the widening array of cyber threats jeopardizing American manufacturers as they increasingly embrace technological innovations.
• Webinars – The International Society of Automation (ISA) is a non-profit professional association that hosts virtual events about cybersecurity. You can register for upcoming events here.

Government Resources

• The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST explains The 5 Most Common Cybersecurity Threats to Manufacturers, provides Cybersecurity Resources for Manufacturers, and offers a free Cybersecurity Framework to help organizations better manage and reduce cybersecurity risk.
• The Illinois Department of Commerce has a web page with links to cybersecurity resources for U.S. Department of Defense contractors.

Tools, Training and Certification

• IMEC Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Training Series beginning July 2021 – 15 month series guiding you to maintain DOD contracts by meeting cybersecurity requirements through CMMC and DFARS NIST800-171 compliance. Register now for the MAKE STEADY PROGRESS: CMMC Cybersecurity 15-Part Training Series for Manufacturers.
• IMEC Cybersecurity Resiliency for Defense Contractors Webinar Series – This watch-on-demand webinar series has six different recorded sessions. It covers recommended cybersecurity measures for manufacturers.
• IAC Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Assessment Tool – This downloadable, interactive spreadsheet includes 20 simple questions to characterize industrial control systems and plant operations. After you answer the questions, the tool provides a high-level assessment of risk (high, medium or low). The companion User Guide provides additional context for the questions included in the tool, to help clients understand how certain business practices lead to cybersecurity risk.
• Cybersecurity Risk Assessment for Small Businesses – If your manufacturing company is considered a small business, check out the NCSS Cybersecurity Assessment and Resiliency Evaluation for Small Business (CARES). The assessment takes about 15 minutes to complete. Upon completion, your business will be assigned a score and a definition of what the score means in terms of your cyber security posture.
• Certification Course – The International Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) is an international professional association that focuses on IT governance. It offers a certification course titled Cybersecurity Fundamentals that “offers the practical guidance every rising IT professional needs to be aware of” in order to “be fluent in communicating and able to avoid many of the pitfalls and risks that cybersecurity presents.”
• Cyber Security Fundamentals Professional – Offered by Cyber Security Training and Consulting LLC, this course covers all subject areas (and more) to adequately prepare a student to pass the ISACA® Cybersecurity Nexus (CSX)™ Fundamentals certification exam.

Please Note: This post is for informational purposes only. IMEC does not endorse any companies mentioned in linked resources.

Featured Event

Make an investment in the cyber protection of your
company – while increasing competitiveness for contracts
through the U.S. Department of Defense.

You are not alone in navigating DoD-required cybersecurity practices. The MAKE STEADY PROGRESS: 15-part CMMC Cybersecurity Training Series for Manufacturers will guide you through the process towards CMMC certification, verifying to the DoD that you have adequate cybersecurity controls and policies in place to meet DoD security standards.

Live, virtual training begins July 7, and will meet monthly through September 2022. This series will:

• Translate the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework into language that manufacturers – not cybersecurity experts – can understand.  Recordings of monthly training will be available for all participants.
• Provide an up-to-date deep dive into each of the CMMC control families and domains
• Outline monthly action step for you to make ongoing progress toward CMMC compliance –while still operating your company
• Provide 1-on-1 monthly guidance to make regular progress on the CMMC requirements
• Save $100,000+ in consulting costs for an external provider to complete the process of demonstrating compliance with CMMC in policies, procedures and practices