Manufacturers Can’t Afford Downtime

Every minute of downtime has a measurable cost, lost production, missed delivery deadlines, and damaged customer confidence. As manufacturing becomes more digital and interconnected, the risk landscape has shifted.

Modern production lines now blend Information Technology (IT), Operational Technology (OT), and connected IoT devices into one ecosystem. This creates efficiency, but also complexity. Threat actors exploit these connections to infiltrate environments, spread laterally, and leverage manufacturers’ low tolerance for downtime to demand ransom payments.

• 72% of OT attacks start in IT environments
• 1 in 4 manufacturers experience operational downtime from a cyberattack

The result: financial losses, reputational damage, and an inability to meet contractual obligations.

Digital Transformation Has Expanded the Attack Surface

While smart systems and connected sensors improve output, they also expand the attack surface. Each new integration, from remote access tools to IoT endpoints, becomes a potential point of entry.

That’s why manufacturers must now infuse Zero Trust principles into their security strategy. Every connection should be verified, not assumed to be safe. This approach ensures operations remain protected, even as complexity increases.

The True Cost of a Cyber Incident

Recent data shows just how high the stakes have become:

• 25.7% of all cyber incidents target manufacturing
• 3 in 4 manufacturers have experienced a cyberattack in their OT environment
• 1 in 4 had to shut down operations as a result
• 6.9 days — average downtime after a successful attack
• $2 million — average cost to restore operations
• 35% of executives cite IP theft as the attackers’ primary motive

Beyond the financial losses, the ripple effects, production delays, supply chain disruption, and loss of customer trust can last far longer.

Four Steps Toward Industrial Resilience

Building resilience takes more than firewalls and backups. It requires strategy, visibility, and discipline. Manufacturers can strengthen defenses across IT, OT, and IoT by:

1. Establishing strong cyber hygiene — enforce MFA, patch regularly, and secure endpoints.
2. Ensuring reliable backups and tested recovery plans — so operations can resume quickly after an incident.
3. Gain full visibility — map every connected device and network dependency in your environment.
4. Adopting a Zero Trust architecture — verify every connection to minimize exposure.

The ROI of Resilience

Operational resilience isn’t just a technical priority — it’s a business strategy.
Each investment in cybersecurity safeguards uptime, protects intellectual property, and sustains customer confidence.

At AVATAR MSP, we help manufacturers reduce complexity, secure critical systems, and strengthen their ability to operate through disruption. Because in today’s digital manufacturing landscape, resilience is the new ROI.