Automation is at the heart of progress in the field of manufacturing – it simplifies many processes, speeds them up and allows the most rational distribution of resources. SAP systems play one of the most important roles when it comes to process control in this industry. However, along with automation and the use of systems like SAP, companies may face a number of risks associated with cybersecurity, and this will be discussed today.
Why SAP
In the field of manufacturing, SAP systems help to achieve smooth automated work, providing transparency and coherence of processes. SAP systems have demonstrated their undeniable advantages in the ERP systems market due to the offered versatility and a wide range of options covering the needs of customers from a wide range of industries. For the manufacturing industry, the ability to monitor processes in real time and the ability to increase work efficiency with the help of tools such as SAP manufacturing intelligence, integration and analytics (SAP MII) is important.
SAP products for manufacturing
SAP offers a range of manufacturing products to suit the different needs of companies in the manufacturing industry. For example, SAP Digital Manufacturing Cloud helps optimize manufacturing performance through analysis, visualization, and integration of manufacturing management. SAP Manufacturing Execution will help improve the reliability of production by applying centralized processes and automated data collection. In addition, SAP S/4HANA Manufacturing solutions will help to ensure corporate work within the SAP S/4HANA integrated environment.
Attacks on manufacturing companies
Sabotage is one of the most dangerous types of attacks for this area, which can lead not only to reputational and financial losses, but also to the risk of life and health of people, for example, if complex equipment in production is disabled. DoS attacks are a particular manifestation of sabotage and can lead to stagnation in the entire production. Just a short period of time, for which the systems will be disabled, can lead to enormous losses and consequences for months of recovery work.
In addition, industrial espionage, which is also quite common in this environment, poses a great danger. Any trade secrets used by third parties can also cause irreparable harm to the company.
Of course, along with this, one should not forget about ransomware common in any other area and the leakage of personal and financial data.
Precautionary measures
Try to select trusted vendors and also update the system regularly. Also as we said earlier we recommend to perform regular vulnerability checks. We can also help you provide the necessary level of protection for your SAP system.
