Many industries are facing cyber threats today. One that many people forget about is the food industry. Because of the nature of this industry, only some believe it can be a target for cybercriminals. However, the truth is that it is slowly becoming a major target.
If you are a stakeholder in the food industry, it will be vital to find ways to stay safe from various cyber threats. This article will be an excellent guide to all you should know about cyber threats facing this industry. It will also provide an in-depth look at how to stay safe.
Here’s all you should know about cybersecurity in the food industry.
Understanding OT Cybersecurity
It will be vital to start by understanding what we mean by OT cybersecurity. This will make it easier to understand the rest of this article. Here’s a brief background on what we mean by it.
So, What Is OT Cybersecurity?
An OT cyber security threat is one that aims at stealing or damaging business data. The breaches can come as a result of attacks from viruses, denial of service, and many more. Once they succeed, the data lost can be used for various malicious purposes, putting owners at risk.
It will be vital to ensure that you prevent OT cyberattacks on your business. This will help ensure that you invest in the right areas of your business and get good results. If you are wondering how to do this in your business, this article will be worth reading.
The next section will focus on the potential OT cyber threats you should keep an eye on. It will help you take the right steps to prevent breaches that would cost your business its data and customers. Preventing OT cyber security breaches is about to get easier.
Cybersecurity Threats Facing the Food Industry
Many kinds of cybersecurity threats face the food industry. It will be easy to stay safe from them if you invest time in learning them and the various ways you can stay safe. This section will take a more in-depth look at the various cyber threats you should avoid.
They include:
Outdated Control Systems
This is one of the reasons your security might be compromised. You must ensure that the cyber-security tools you use have what it takes to handle modern threats. If there are any vulnerabilities, replace these systems with more updated ones.
IT/OT Convergence
Cybersecurity is advancing in various ways. One of the latest trends has been the convergence of IT and OT. Although this can be a good digital transformation initiative, it can expose a business to various threats. Ensure network safety even as you implement them.
Skill Gaps
There are a lot of skills that you need to know to keep your network safe from attacks. Your OT security will be compromised if you do not handle your hardware correctly. It is vital to ensure that your cybersecurity team has the right tools to tackle any threats.
Lack Of Security Maturity
We already mentioned that many people do not consider the food industry vulnerable to cyberattacks. Thus, there isn’t much investment in securing food companies from attacks. This industry’s lack of security maturity makes it easy to get exposed to attacks.
Remote Working
Various challenges, the latest one being the COVID-19 pandemic, have pushed businesses to try remote working. However, remote working can increase a business’s attack service. It is vital to secure employees’ physical devices to work remotely for better results.
Those are some potential cyber threats to which you might be exposed if you run a food business. If you were wondering what threats could expose your business, now you know the most common ones. You can start working to prevent them from affecting your business.
Ways to Prevent Threats in the Food Industry
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The threats discussed above are worth preventing if you are in the food industry. It can, however, be tricky to know how to prevent them. This section will provide some great tips to help you stay safe now and in the future. You can use the following insights to stay safe:
Have a security awareness program.
Every member of your team needs to know how they can prevent attacks. The best way to ensure this is by conducting an awareness training program. It will help you work with an entire team instead of struggling to counter attacks all by yourself, which will boost security.
Set Security Standards.
It will help to set certain standards for your cybersecurity. You need to understand the structures put in place by regulating bodies. This will help you know if you are setting the standards correctly. If you are acquiring hardware, you should ensure it meets certain standards.
Build Company Culture
Security should be everyone’s top priority in any organization. It is vital to ensure that you make it a culture to which every new employee must get used. They should learn to use the tools that they have invested in to prevent various security threats.
Those are some of the best steps to take to secure your business. These tips can help ensure the hardware you use in your business doesn’t expose you to threats. It will be vital to ensure that you start implementing them in your business as soon as possible.
However, it can sometimes be challenging to do this by yourself. The best option will be to work with one of the many OT vendors out there. These security companies are experts in OT security and they can help you revamp your security to ensure it meets the desired standards.
Conclusion
We have explored the major business problem, all you need to know about cybersecurity in the food industry. You now know the potential threats you can face as a player in the food industry. You can now set up your OT systems to ensure your cybersecurity and business stays safe.
The insights shared in this article will make your work easier. You can use them to ensure that your physical assets remain safe from infringement. Sealing all loopholes will help ensure that your food business stays safe from any operational technology attack.
Jeena Alfredo is a passionate digital marketer at The Business Goals. She is working with other companies to help them manage the relationship with The Business Goals for the publications.
