Securing Manufacturing Summit

Fighting Back: Can Manufacturers Turn the Tide? 

14th April, 2026 • Online

When you're the most targeted group worldwide, and you know you need better security, what are your priorities for 2026?
 

Tough times for the world's most targeted sector

The numbers are stark. Manufacturing has been the #1-targeted industry by cybercriminals four years in a row. That's according everyone from IBM through to the FBI. 


Why? Because manufacturing hold highly monetisable IP and sensitive operational data which is useful to both economic and nation-state attackers; because they are extremely sensitive to downtime and so are more likely to pay to get up and running again; and because disrupting them can have significant wider economic effects. 
The other reason unfortunately is weak internal security. The most significant attack of the year involved the poorly-debated risk-acceptance of an unsecured legacy system. 
That's why manufacturing organisations polled for a recent study reported that exploited vulnerabilities now drive 32% of all successful ransomware attacks, with malicious email (23%) and credential compromise (20%) close behind. 
Even more troubling, manufacturers have the second-highest rate of data theft across all sectors (39% of cases where encryption occurred). This means the threat has shifted from operational disruption to large-scale IP extraction, trade secrets theft, and supply chain coercion - exactly the scenarios that keep manufacturing CISOs awake at night. 
And critically, most victims cite a lack of expertise (42.5%), unknown security gaps (41.6%), and lack of adequate protection (41%) as the core reasons they were breached. 

In other words: manufacturing CISOs know they need more help, more tools, and more trusted suppliers. 
Meanwhile, attackers have evolved. Although data encryption rates have fallen to 40% - the lowest in five years - the rise of pure extortion attacks has tripled, hitting 10% of all manufacturing victims. 
The business consequences remain severe. Even after declining 24% year-on-year, average recovery costs still hit $1.3 million, and more than half of manufacturers (51%) paid ransoms despite strong backup practices. And the human cost is escalating: 

  • 47% of teams report increased anxiety or stress,
  • 44% report increased pressure from senior leaders, 
  • 41% report sustained workload increases, 
  • and 27% saw leadership replaced after an incident.

 

This is one of the highest-stress cybersecurity environments in the world. These leaders are investing fast but they cannot solve these problems alone. 
They need partners. They need help from their peers. And they need a trusted space to find them. That's why we are running the e-Crime & Cybersecurity Manufacturing Summit. 

 

The e-Crime & Cybersecurity Manufacturing Summit will take place online and will look at how cybersecurity teams are tackling these challenges. Join our real-life case studies and in-depth technical sessions and help make manufacturing secure. 

View details of the previous event

  • Transitioning OT to the Cloud?

    • OT traditionally was localized in particular sites and air-gapped from IT systems.
    • But connectivity with broader corporate networks and the need to manage technology more centrally (especially during COVID) has seen companies looking at managed services in the Cloud for OT.
    • Is this a way forward?

  • Achieving visibility across ecosystems

    • From exposed initial access points such as warehouse management systems to complex machine control software, simply understanding your device and application landscape, its connection and data flows and dependencies is a huge challenge.
    • Can you help with asset tracking and endpoint visibility?
    • And what about anomaly detection after that?

  • Pen testing for OT / SCADA

    • Testing is key to identifying and fixing vulnerabilities before they're exploited. 
    • Regulations like NERC CIP require utilities to assess and mitigate risk. 
    • Testing checks OT security controls are functioning properly and shows regulators an organization's commitment to security. Can you help?

  • OT and the regulations

    • DORA, NIS2 and other regulations put more responsibility for resilience on firms deemed important or critical.
    • Many have focused on IT networks but the regulations include all resilience and so OT environments matter. 
    • What does this new emphasis from regulators mean practically for OT security?

  • Why zero trust, isolation and segmentation are key

    • There has been a shift in recent attacks away from the theft of data – now threat actors are concerned with interrupting all operation activity.
    • It is now critical that business functions are separated, and that internet access to OT networks is limited.
    • Can security teams keep up with sophisticated foes? 

  • Defending against the latest ransomware variants

    • Ransomware is effective precisely because it can exploit whatever weaknesses exist in your security architecture and processes
    • The threat and the actors are constantly evolving, and that evolution is forcing the hand of the government and causing havoc in the insurance market
    • What can CISOs do to better defend against ransomware?

  • Making the best use of threat intelligence

    • In a pre-emptive security model, timing is everything — success depends on detecting and neutralizing threats before they become active incidents.
    • To do this, security operations can't just rely on internal telemetry (e.g., endpoint or network logs).
    • They need external, real-time context about emerging threats — where do they get it?

  • Security Posture Management

    • Traditional vulnerability scanners don’t handle cloud native architectures well.
    • Today’s cloud environments spin up thousands of ephemeral assets without a traditional OS, without an IP address for long.
    • So how do you adapt to that dynamic, API-driven reality? How can traditional tools connect the dots – not just generate tickets?

  • Improving continuous attack surface discovery

    • You need to know what attackers can see and what they can actually attack – and you need it on a continuous basis, not in some static inventory.
    • Ideally you also need assets ranked by risk priority and put into the current threat and vulnerability context.
    • Is this feasible and is it cost effective?

  • The power of automation

    • There’s too much manual intervention in security. SOAR pulls data from SIEMs, EDRs, firewalls, cloud APIs, ticketing systems, threat intelligence feeds, and even email servers.
    • It also coordinates actions across tools via APIs and prebuilt integrations and intelligent playbooks.
    • Well, that’s the theory. How does it work in the real world?

  • Adversary simulation and behavioural analysis

    • Automated adversary simulation identifies telemetry blind spots.
    • They provide prioritized remediation guidance and control effectiveness metrics. They track progress trends and validate security ROIs as well as providing board and audit reporting.
    • How well do they work in practice?

  • Dealing with regulations

    • CISOs now must build a single coherent security program that simultaneously satisfies divergent regulatory demands.
    • They must interpret vague legal standards into technical architectures, and they risk non-compliance if auditors, regulators, or courts interpret those differently later.
    • They face unrealistic expectations around incident reporting and they face personal liability. Can RegTech help?

Who attends

Job titles

Group Chief Information Security Officer
OT Security Expert
MEA Cybersecurity Officer
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Senior Threat Intelligence Analyst
Information Security Program Manager
Cyber Security Architect
Chief Compliance and Business Ethics Officer
Head of Cyber Insurance Management
Information Security Governance, Risk and Compliance Lead
CISO
Service Support
Head of Cyber Programme Delivery
Director, Information Security Leader DACH
IT Security Operations Senior Analyst
CISO
Cyber Security im Lieferantennetzwerk
Head of Information Security
Information Security Manager
Penetration tester / Red Teamer
Group IT Security Manager
Manager IT Infrastructure & Operations
Group Director of Information Security
Head Of Information Technology
Solution Lead, Network & Security
Head of Industrial Cybersecurity
Global Cybersecurity Leader
Head of Cybersecurity and Telematics
Information Security Officer EMEA
Cyber Risk Manager
IT Security Manager
IT Project Manager
Data Protection Officer
Cyber Threat Intelligence
Sr.Cloud Network Security Engineer
Global Security Operations Coordinator
Cyber Threat Intel (CTI) Analyst
CISO
Head of Security Engineering & Operations
Cyber Security Specialist
Chief Product Security Officer
Cyber Security Architect
Data Protection Officer
CISO
Threat Intelligence Lead
Cyber Security Architect
Travel Security & Intelligence
Information Security Specialist
Head of Governance, Risk & Compliance in Corporate Security
Senior Project Manager Cyber Security
Cloud & Security Architect
Cloud Security
Global Cyber Programme Leader
Head of IT
Security Awareness Manager
Cyber Threat Intelligence
CISO
Security Awareness and Training
Directrice cyber défense
Principal Controls Engineer
Group CISO
Senior Cyber Security Professional - OT
IT Security Manager

Companies

Hill & Smith PLC
Airbus Defence and Space
Schneider Electric
Ahlstrom
Signify
Trivium Packaging
Fiskars Group
Saint-Gobain Group
Airbus Defence and Space
pladis Global
Renesas Electronics Corporation
Alfa Laval
Natura &Co
Procter & Gamble
Amcor
Kistler Group
BMW Group
Victorinox
Satair
Airbus Defence and Space
Oxford Instruments
Remeha
Senior Plc
Lenze Swiss AG
Meyer Turku
Siemens
Schneider Electric
Tevva Hydrogen Electric Trucks
Essilor International
Fiskars Group
Sanad Group
BMW Group
Imperial Brands Plc
Signify
3M
Signify
Signify
Siemens
Aptiv Plc
Airbus Defence and Space
Canon Production Printing
Airbus Defence and Space
Vorwerk Group
SCA Forest Products AB
Schneider Electric
Airbus Defence and Space
Signify
Meyer Turku
Signify
Natura &Co
Yokogawa Engineering
3M
Natura &Co
GF Casting Solutions
Signify
Signify
La Farga
Signify
Plastic Omnium
Coopervision
Klöckner & Co SE
Siemens
BSH

Employee size

1000-1999
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