LevelBlue: Manufacturing Cyber Risks Demand Urgent Defences
As manufacturers accelerate the adoption of AI and automation to streamline operations, the cyber threat landscape is becoming increasingly intricate.
LevelBlue’s 2025 Spotlight Report: Cyber Resilience and Business Impact in Manufacturing underscores a widening gap between escalating cyber risks and the sector’s current state of readiness, driving a renewed emphasis on resilience strategies.
How emerging threats target preparedness gaps
Drawing on insights from a survey of 220 manufacturing leaders, the report highlights a sharp rise in anticipated AI-driven cyberattacks, alongside increasingly advanced and targeted threat vectors.
Nearly half of manufacturing leaders (44%) anticipate AI-driven cyberattacks in the near term, yet only 32% feel their organisations are equipped to defend against them.
The risks extend further, with 47% expecting deepfake and synthetic identity threats, but just 30% expressing readiness to counter such incursions.
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks remain a central concern – intensified by ongoing geopolitical frictions and the vulnerabilities of IoT devices – though only 37% of respondents report sufficient preparedness.
Data security and privacy also persist as critical pain points, with 55% highlighting them as their most substantial challenge.
Compounding these issues is poor visibility into software supply chains.
More than half of executives (54%) admit to having only limited to moderate insight into supplier security, while just 26% actively prioritise verifying software vendors’ credentials.
These deficiencies heighten the risk of cascading supply chain breaches, leaving manufacturing ecosystems exposed to potentially sweeping disruption.
The importance of a cybersecurity-first culture
LevelBlue says manufacturers are responding by fostering a cybersecurity-first culture that integrates security with business strategy.
“Cyber resilience is no longer optional – it’s becoming a strategic imperative for manufacturers in order to maintain customer and supply chain trust,” LevelBlue’s Chief Security & Trust Officer Kory Daniels says in the report.
“While it’s encouraging to see increased alignment between cybersecurity initiatives and business goals, the data shows that many organisations still face critical gaps in alignment.
“Corporate executive alignment and a proactive, adaptive approach are essential to staying ahead of rapidly evolving threats.”
Sixty-five percent of organisations now hold leadership accountable through defined cybersecurity KPIs, while 70% prioritise workforce education on social engineering—measures that LevelBlue identifies as vital safeguards against increasingly sophisticated AI-enhanced phishing campaigns.
More than half of respondents (55%) report integrating cybersecurity budgets into new projects from the outset, positioning resilience as a core pillar of innovation rather than an afterthought.
In addition, 69% believe that adaptable cybersecurity practices enable them to pursue bolder innovation strategies more securely, striking a balance between protection and progress.
- Machine learning for pattern matching (71%)
- Cyber resilience processes across the business (69%)
- Generative AI defences targeting social engineering (64%)
- Application security (67%)
- Enhanced software supply chain security (63%)
Despite these efforts, only 34% invest significantly in Zero Trust Architecture, a robust defence posture that continuously verifies identities and quickly responds to incidents – critical in today’s evolving threat environment.
“AI-powered criminals are launching more frequent and sophisticated attacks than those not using AI,” Kory goes on to tell Technology Magazine.
“Our data shows that only 32% of manufacturing firms feel equipped to defend against these threats and criminals are still in the early stages of adopting AI.
“Fortunately, cyber resilience is becoming a boardroom priority, with more than half of executives allocating cybersecurity budgets at the start of new projects.
“As a top target for today’s cyber criminals, manufacturing organisations can’t afford any delays.”
How to boost cyber resilience
To drive greater resilience, LevelBlue recommends four steps.
- Align cyber resilience with high-level business decisions
- Cultivate a culture encouraging easy reporting of potential threats
- Engage external cybersecurity experts for strategy, training and validation
- Prioritise software supply chain security through rigorous supplier assessments and confidence scoring
According to LevelBlue, these measures strike a crucial balance between safeguarding vital assets and fostering innovation.
As cyber adversaries turn to AI to automate ransomware, generate highly convincing deepfakes, and manipulate vulnerable supply chains, manufacturers find themselves at a pivotal crossroads in their resilience journey.
Kory adds: “To effectively safeguard security without stifling innovation, cyber resilience must continue to become embedded in the business even further.
“That starts with aligning cyber-resilience considerations with business decisions from the top down, encouraging proactivity and strengthening software supply chain resilience.”
