Manufacturing: OT Security Becomes Mandatory
Manufacturing companies are the #1 target for ransomware. NIS2 demands protection of production facilities, control systems, and supply chains.
Critical Assets in Manufacturing
OT systems in the focus of NIS2
SCADA & HMI
Process control systems, visualization, operator interfaces, often with legacy operating systems.
PLC/SPS
Programmable Logic Controllers. The heart of automation.
Robots & CNC
Industrial robots, CNC machines: physical safety at risk if manipulated.
MES & ERP
Manufacturing Execution Systems: the bridge between IT and OT.
IT vs. OT: Different Worlds
IT (Office)
- Availability: 99.9% (8h downtime/year OK)
- Patches: Weekly possible
- Lifecycle: 3-5 years
- Priority: Confidentiality
- Protocols: TCP/IP, HTTP, SQL
OT (Production)
- Availability: 99.999% (5 min downtime/year)
- Patches: Only during planned shutdowns
- Lifecycle: 15-25 years
- Priority: Availability & Safety
- Protocols: Modbus, Profinet, OPC
Typical Risks in Manufacturing
Why manufacturing is particularly at risk
IT/OT Convergence
Industry 4.0 connects previously isolated OT with IT networks. New attack paths.
Legacy Systems
Windows XP, unpatched controllers. "Never touch a running system" is not a security strategy.
Remote Maintenance
Machine manufacturers with VPN access: uncontrolled backdoors.
Supply Chain
Components with pre-installed malware, compromised firmware.
Key Measures for Manufacturing
Art. 21 NIS2 + IEC 62443 for OT
OT Risk Analysis
Asset inventory of all OT components. Purdue model for segmentation. IEC 62443 as framework.
OT Incident Response
Special playbooks for OT incidents. Safety vs. security trade-offs. Forensics without production downtime.
Business Continuity
Manual fallback processes for critical production steps. Backup of PLC programs.
Secure Development
Security-by-Design for new installations. Security requirements in specifications.
Access Control
Network segmentation (DMZ between IT and OT). Jump servers for remote maintenance. USB control.
NIS2 Compliance for Manufacturing
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