Nearly a third of British manufacturers have experienced a cyber-attack affecting their business or supply chain in the past 12 months, according to a MakeUK survey.
The industry lobby group found that 30 per cent of manufacturers surveyed had faced a cyber incident, with many reporting lost production time and higher costs. Only half said they had a plan to respond to an attack.
The survey covered 123 manufacturers. Among companies affected by an attack on their supply chain, about 30 per cent reported delayed deliveries to customers or reduced output. Almost a quarter reported delays from suppliers or shortages of components and materials.
The findings come nearly a year after an attack on JLR forced Britain’s largest automotive employer to halt production for weeks. The company shut down systems across its factories, offices and retail operations after discovering digital intruders on the last day of August last year.
The independent Cyber Monitoring Centre said the incident cost the UK economy at least £1.9bn, mainly through lost output at JLR and its suppliers. The New York Times reported in June that British law enforcement had concluded Russian hackers were responsible.
Manufacturers have increasingly connected factory systems to improve productivity and gain quicker insight into operations. However, the wider network of connections can also increase the potential damage once attackers gain access.
The report said cyber threats have grown as hackers become more numerous and more capable of penetrating company defences. It also cited growing concern around generative AI systems, some of which have been able to hack into other businesses autonomously.
Jonathon Ellison, director of national resilience at the National Cyber Security Centre, said cybersecurity should be treated as a business-critical priority.
“In today’s landscape, no manufacturer can afford to treat cybersecurity as anything other than a business-critical priority,” Ellison said.
