Manufacturing unprepared for cyber crime, report finds

The manufacturing industry is not doing enough to protect itself against cyber crime, a new report has suggested.

Make UK's research Cyber-Security and Manufacturing - A Briefing for Manufacturers discovered that more than half of UK manufacturers have fallen victim to cyber crime, with a third of those suffering some kind of financial loss or disruption to business as a result.

The sector was the fifth-most targeted - and it is likely that many more cyber attacks on it have gone undetected.

Furthermore, manufacturing remains among the least protected industries, with 31 per cent of companies saying they would be unable to give guarantees of cyber safety and 35 per cent admitting they are not fully investing in new digital processes.

Chief executive of Make UK Stephen Phipson said: "The cyber security threat to manufacturers is growing and evolving. No business can afford to ignore this issue any longer and too many are still burying their heads in the sand."

The UK manufacturing industry currently has 2.6 million employees and provides around ten per cent of the country's economic output.