May 2019

www.smartmachinesandfactories.com May 2019 | 47 | | INTERVIEWS & REPORTS | threats against businesses have increased by more than 200% over the past year (while attacks on consumers fell by 40%). Ransomware attacks in the first quarter of 2019 were 195% higher than in the last three months of 2018. Manufacturers are particularly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. In a new report, the cyber-security analyst Trend Micro warns that the closer links between IT and shopfloor networks that are essential to Industry 4.0 are posing increased risks to production processes and to intellectual property. The risks are exacerbated by the fact that many manufacturers are still running old versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, making them more vulnerable to cyber- attacks. In particular, Trend’s report, Securing Smart Factories: Threats to Manufacturing Environments in the Era of Industry 4.0, reveals that 4.4% of Windows users in manufacturing are still relying on Windows XP, an OS that Microsoft stopped supporting in 2014. Although this figure may seem small, it is much higher than in other industries (which average 2.5%) and leaves users vulnerable to attacks from malware for which Microsoft is no longer providing security updates. Trend reports that it has detected old network-based worms such as Downad (also known as Conficker), in large numbers in manufacturing Smart factories face cyber-threats of various types from several sources (Image: Trend Micro)