Manufacturing plants increasingly bridge Operational Technology (OT)—such as smart assembly lines, CNC tooling machines, and inventory scanners—with standard corporate IT networks. A breach on an employee laptop can travel horizontally and completely halt physical assembly lines.
- The Main Threats: Production-line ransomware freezes, industrial control manipulation, and intellectual property theft of unique engineering drawings.
The Regulatory Penalty: Massive supply chain line failure fines, damaged equipment repair overheads, and high remediation costs.