by April Miller
Manufacturing runs on timing, and plant teams know how quickly one stalled system can ripple through the day. A missed scan, locked file or unavailable scheduling tool can slow the line, hold up materials, delay shipments and leave customer commitments in a tight spot.
The risk of ransomware in manufacturing continues to grow because many producers still rely on outdated equipment. When these systems connect across IT and operational technology environments, a threat at one exposed entry point may lead to other problems.
Why Manufacturing Ransomware Keeps Rising
Downtime gives attackers leverage. Some companies can continue operating partially during an outage, but manufacturers don’t have that luxury. One ransomware incident can lock up order records, scheduling systems, quality control data, machine interfaces and shipping systems all at once.
According to the FBI’s 2024 IC3 report, ransomware complaints involving critical infrastructure increased by 9% from 2023 to 2024, underscoring the broad impact across these sectors. For plant managers, operations leaders and executives, it’s become an IT and a production continuity issue.
Attackers understand that many plants depend on just-in-time processes, where customer orders, supplier deliveries and plant operations are carefully synchronized. Ransomware interruptions can compound costs when these plants lose access to critical systems.
A long-term problem exists. Many industrial control systems and older factory machines were built for decades of service before cybersecurity was a serious consideration, and some cannot be safely patched until vendors are willing to allow it. Older systems do not receive regular updates. Even when teams know a flaw exists, they cannot shut down a line to patch it, creating an operational challenge.
Remote access is also a key factor. Vendors, maintenance personnel and engineers may need to log into machines or systems from outside the facility. Strong authentication, segmentation and monitoring can keep these connections useful without compromising the plant.
The Real Cost of a Manufacturing Cyberattack
A manufacturing cyberattack can reach far beyond an encrypted server. It can disrupt an organization’s production schedules, inventories, shipping documentation, procurement data and customer communications. In heavy industry, the effects can also involve safety checks, compliance paperwork and equipment availability.
Aside from the ransom, manufacturers can face lost production, recovery overtime, breaches of service-level agreements, legal review costs, regulatory reporting fines, churn and reputational damage. Engineering, IT and operations teams may spend days or even weeks on containment and recovery instead of production support.
The increasing frequency of attacks on businesses has made the need for preparation clear. Over 50% of organizations across industries reported ransom attacks in the U.S. in 2019-2020. For manufacturers, that figure still matters because ransomware has only become more disruptive as plants have grown more connected. Recovery planning gives leaders a stronger path forward before an attack reaches the plant floor and puts production, customers and critical systems at risk.
How Attackers Exploit Operational Weak Points
After gaining access through weak points, attackers determine which disabled systems would have the most disruptive effect. Targets can include ERP or other business and production software, recipes or formulations, machine settings, maintenance records or supplier lists. Many threat actors exfiltrate data before encrypting a system, which gives them another way to pressure leadership and end users. Stolen IP or supplier information can create additional risks, even when backups exist.
Flat networks make spreading damage much easier. Ransomware from a business system can move toward operational systems when security controls between IT and OT systems are weak or missing. Attackers do not need to control the machinery itself. Access to scheduling, authentication, file shares or reporting can still slow production.
How Manufacturers Can Strengthen Defenses
Manufacturers do not need to implement new technology across the entire production chain at once. Instead, they can develop a sensible security approach that addresses their biggest threats and supports stronger production processes.
Visibility is the first step. Leadership needs to know which systems support production, touch external networks, and are hard to patch or upgrade. System inventories allow teams to assess risk and prioritize improvements and mitigation steps, rather than treat everything equally.
One survey found that 39% of organizations worldwide were hit with one to three ransomware attacks in 2023, while another 38% experienced four to six in the same time period. The statistics show why manufacturers benefit from preparing systems, people and recovery plans before attackers create production pressure.
Network segmentation should be part of that plan. Separating IT from operational technology limits attackers’ lateral movement after a successful attack. Strong identity controls, multifactor authentication and least-privilege access also help reduce risks tied to stolen credentials.
Backups and disaster recovery processes should be reviewed periodically. They should be protected, tested and separated from public-facing systems. These cloud-supported services allow manufacturers to recover critical systems without moving all applications to the cloud.
Incident response planning also requires input from plant-floor personnel. A strong plan identifies who shuts systems down, who communicates with customers, how production decisions are made and which processes can continue manually until teams remove the ransomware. Before an attack occurs, plant leaders, engineers, IT teams and executives should know exactly what each role requires.
Building Security Around Production Continuity
Manufacturers can no longer treat cybersecurity as an IT silo issue. When teams put the right controls, monitoring and segmentation in place, the same systems that support manufacturing efficiency can operate with less exposure.
Better security reduces the likelihood of a manufacturing cyberattack and the impact if one occurs. Visibility, secure remote access, tested backups, cloud disaster recovery, incident response playbooks and planning may help protect data and production in manufacturing environments.
