“Cybersecurity has become a basic requirement for industry”

Security expert Thomas Hopfner from software manufacturer MVTec

© MVTec

inspect: Why should people be concerned about cybersecurity?

Thomas Hopfner: There are a number of reasons why companies in the US and around the world should be concerned about cybersecurity. According to the latest FBI Internet Crime Report (IC3), there were 258 ransomware attacks and 75 data breaches in the critical manufacturing sector in the US, making manufacturing the most heavily targeted sector. One reason for this is that there are more and more networked devices that represent an attractive target for attack. In industry today, it is no longer just office PCs that are connected to the network, but also cameras, edge devices, PLCs, robots, and sensors – in other words, exactly the components we use to implement machine vision solutions. Each of these systems increases the attack surface. Networked production facilities are particularly attractive to attackers. With a successful attack, they can paralyze production, manipulate data, or disrupt entire supply chains. Anyone who uses industrial IoT and machine vision must consider security – from device configuration to updates and access rights. In addition, regulatory requirements and liability risks are increasing. In the US, the National Cybersecurity Strategy has explicitly addressed critical infrastructures and manufacturers of digital products since 2023, calling for more security “by design” and “by default.” For us as a software manufacturer in industrial machine vision, this means that cybersecurity is not a “nice to have,” but a basic requirement for delivering trustworthy products, protecting our customers' production processes, and at the same time meeting regulatory requirements. Anyone who does not take cybersecurity seriously today risks not only attacks, but also damage to their reputation and legal consequences.