Cybersecurity rated as a top priority for 30% of manufacturers

An Aug. 13 report released by Rockwell Automation found that 30% of executives at industrial manufacturers rate cybersecurity as a top external risk, right up there with inflation and economic growth at 34%.

The report found that as IT and OT become more connected, the attack surface has expanded. Rockwell’s research confirmed what many in the industry now see firsthand: cyber risk is now one of the top threats to manufacturing growth.

“Cybersecurity is no longer just a technology issue — it’s a boardroom issue,” said Stephen Ford, vice president and chief information security officer at Rockwell Automation. “And, we can’t protect tomorrow's enterprises with yesterday’s tools. AI is a critical part of the modern security stack, enabling manufacturers to detect threats in real time, maintain productivity, and stay ahead in an increasingly aggressive threat landscape.”

The Rockwell survey found that roughly 50% of security teams at manufacturers plan to invest in AI/ML tools to improve their security operations.

Michael Mumcuoglu, co-founder and CEO at CardinalOps, said cybersecurity becoming a board-level priority in manufacturing signals the dawn of a new era in which resilience has become core to a company’s competitiveness.

“The momentum behind AI and ML adoption shows that security leaders are realizing traditional defenses can’t keep up with adversaries’ speed and scale and they must move towards intelligent, self-optimizing systems that can anticipate threats and preemptively eliminate exposure risk before it disrupts operations,” said Mumcuoglu. “This shift redefines cybersecurity from being a cost of doing business to becoming a driver of trust, innovation, and growth.”

Nic Adams, co-founder and CEO at 0rcus, pointed out that manufacturing leaders prioritizing cybersecurity to parity with macroeconomic concerns reflects a structural recognition that operational continuity has become inseparable from security posture.

“I say this because IT-OT convergence expands the attack surface into process control environments where downtime directly impacts output,” said Adams. “Moreover, the planned integration of machine learning and advanced analytics into defensive architectures indicates a change toward predictive detection and automated containment.”

Satish Swargam, principal security consultant at Black Duck, said the Rockwell report emphasizes on the significance of AI/ML in smart manufacturing and recognizes related cybersecurity challenges. Swargam said the disruption of digital transformation in this market sector shows the increasing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals who are adept in identifying cybersecurity risks and applying mitigation controls to address the challenges AI/ML poses in smart manufacturing.