Enterprise IoT Editorial Report: Industrial IoT security – the pitfalls and practicalities of securing manufacturing and supply chain IoT systems

The ‘internet of things’ (IoT) will usher in a fourth industrial revolution, and raise a storm. Manufacturing and distribution businesses anchored by old systems and processes will be drowned by the rising tide; those that transform their operations will catch a sail. But it presents great risk, as well as great opportunity. These are uncharted waters with unknowable threats. The most significant of these is digital security. As factories and warehouses – once isolated and secured – become increasingly connected, and hackers become increasingly sophisticated, so new attack vectors and vulnerabilities will emerge.

This report considers what is at stake for manufacturing and supply chain businesses, describes vulnerabilities in the industrial IoT stack and associated business processes, and recommends practical steps to minimize security breaches.