As manufacturing companies race to take advantage of the latest that automation and IT has to offer, this has also given cybercriminals the ability to bring down the entire manufacturing operations of a company, without ever setting foot in it. Little wonder, that the 2023 ransomware report by Palo Alto Networks, one of the most respected names in cybersecurity, identified the manufacturing sector as the most targeted sector globally for ransomware and extortion.
It is in this context that the company’s Regional Chief Security Officer for Critical Industries for Asia Pacific and Japan, Alex Nehmy, urges manufacturing industries — including OEMs and component makers — to adopt an enhanced cybersecurity posture to avoid massive disruption in their operations.
“What has happened in the past ten years is a really strong investment in automation and IoT within the manufacturing space. This means that manufacturing environments are highly connected to IT and the cloud.
So, they have got this expanded attack surface and are prone to facing cybersecurity challenges never faced before, and this is a huge risk to industrial environments,” Nehmy said in an interaction with Autocar Professional.
“Manufacturers are seen as a soft target. Legacy equipment is now overexposed. So, we have operational technology equipment that was not built with cybersecurity in mind and can’t be protected by traditional methods. This is why we recommend putting this highly critical infrastructure into our network zones and protecting them with a zero-trust approach.”
Zero Trust
‘Zero trust’ refers to a system in which access is restricted to only people, applications and data systems that need it. Nehmy prescribes the ’zero trust approach’ on ‘crown jewels’ — the highest risk ecosystems, which, in an automotive context, boils down to the manufacturing control system.
“Zero trust means removing implicit trust, which means that everyone does not automatically get access to critical systems.” Essentially, all network flows are
inspected to ensure that not only are they valid from a business point of view, but they are also safe from a cybersecurity point of view.
Nehmy further explains that it is no longer enough for organisations to say their own cybersecurity is good. They are also scrutinising their partners’ cybersecurity
set-ups for projects that are ‘mission critical’. “Responsibility for cybersecurity flows down the supply chain.”
The AI revolution
Like in many areas of economic activity, the rapid rise of AI or artificial intelligence is bringing about massive changes in how goods are manufactured, and also in how these manufacturing operations are protected from intrusions.
Nehmy points out that manufacturers, including in the auto sector, are now using IoT and ‘digital twins’ (a digital replica of the manufacturing line), to monitor their operations and make decisions in real time.
“We are seeing AI and the capabilities that it brings, drive a lot of the advanced capabilities for electric vehicles. They are using AI to do image recognition,
using stop signs and street signs, so cars can drive safely. AI will ‘absolutely’ permeate every aspect of the sector, while enabling some of the really advanced capabilities of smart cars. AI is going to be absolutely integral to that,” Nehmy points out.
Gone are the days when an automaker could make a car, sell it to the customer, and basically forget about it. Increasingly, as Nehmy points out, automakers are
moving from a role of being a manufacturer, to that of a manufacturer and a service provider. They are now selling a car and offering cloud-based, ongoing services around the car. “This is a huge digital transformation for manufacturers and the way they run their businesses,” he notes.
But the role of AI in the auto sector is not just restricted to transforming the end-product and the manufacturing process. AI will change the game from a cybersecurity perspective. It will allow data to be processed in real time and identify anomalies that indicate misuse or a cybersecurity incident that is occurring.
Detection of incidents is a key part of cybersecurity and this really comes down to processing big data in real time and identifying that one little bit of data that indicates that an incident has occurred. So, he points out, it’s a data scale and data processing problem. This is where AI is being increasingly used to process data in real time to highlight the issues that may indicate that an incident has occurred.
“The scale and scope of data that we are seeing in cybersecurity at the moment is too much for humans to process. We’re seeing that an incident occurs and maybe
we are seeing that it is being identified only months — six months — later, and investigation is taking even longer than that. So, we need to move at the speed of data and AI is going to allow us to do that.
However, the protective role of AI is not limited to the factory floor. It will also help secure the cars as they are operating, in addition to securing them as they are being manufactured, Nehmy noted. This protection is extended in two areas — by ensuring uncompromised connectivity between the car and its manufacturer, and in terms of enhancing the features and security of the car itself.
In the first context, automakers have to secure the network for connectivity of the cars, the applications and cloud-based systems that are handling real time communication and the firmware and software updates that they are delivering to cars.
In its second role, AI can enhance the safety features of the car itself. “A lot of the studies have shown that if AI is working to its full capabilities, it can see 360 degrees around the car, and process that real time video in almost real time, and identify if there are hazards. For instance, Auto brakes before people put their foot on the brakes. AI will have real time capability to monitor the road and also the driver.” Similarly, AI will drive personalised infotainment within cars, much like how it does this in music and video streaming services currently.
In the end, he points out, cybersecurity for automakers means ensuring safety and trust in the products and for this, it needs to be built into the culture of the company.
This feature was first published in Autocar Professional’s August 1, 2024 issue.