With global tensions running high, cyberattacks are no longer just technical nuisances, they are being deployed as deliberate tools of disruption.
Critical industries such as manufacturing, energy, and logistics are finding themselves on the front line, with cyber security incidents now spilling far beyond IT departments into boardrooms, production sites, and supply chains.
Propel Tech, a bespoke software specialist working across the manufacturing and industrial sectors, warns that the challenge is no longer simply about preventing attacks, but about designing systems that can withstand and recover from them.
The numbers paint a stark picture. In 2024, 67% of energy, oil and gas organisations worldwide were hit by ransomware, with recovery costs averaging $3.12 million per incident. Manufacturing and industrial firms are now facing similar pressures. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, ransomware incidents targeting industrial environments rose by 46%, disrupting production schedules, supply chains, and logistics networks across Europe.
The UK government’s own Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 found that 43% of all UK businesses had experienced a breach in the past year, rising to 74% for large firms, many of them in manufacturing.
Meanwhile, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has responded to more than 200 “nationally significant” cyber incidents since September 2024, a sign of how serious the risks have become for the UK’s industrial base.
The growing link between geopolitics and cyber risk is clear. Recent years have seen ransomware cripple South Africa’s Transnet ports, forcing supply chain delays across continents, while the Colonial Pipeline hack in the US became a case study in how quickly cyberattacks can spill into the physical world.
Closer to home, Jaguar Land Rover was forced to halt production in 2025 after a major supplier cyberattack, with losses running into millions and the UK government stepping in to assess national-level risks.
These incidents underline a sobering truth: as manufacturing becomes more connected, automated, and data-driven, every digital dependency, from supply chain systems to industrial control software, becomes a potential vulnerability.
As such, the ability not only to defend against attacks but to withstand and recover from them has become the new currency of survival. For manufacturers, resilience is the difference between being offline for days or staying operational when it matters most.
Generic, off-the-shelf software often struggles here. Designed for broad user bases, it can leave blind spots, create dependency on vendor updates, and increase exposure to supply chain vulnerabilities. By contrast, bespoke systems allow resilience and security to be built into the foundations, mapped to real-world risks, supported by layered defence, and owned in a way that allows faster response when attacks occur.
Andy Brown, founder and director of Propel Tech, says: “Resilience has to be designed in from the start. When you build from security first principles, you can bake security not as an afterthought but as a first layer. For critical manufacturing operations, that’s the only safe route.”
Cyber security and resilience is no longer just an IT problem, it is a strategic and economic imperative. With cyberattacks on industrial and manufacturing settings accelerating, and global supply chains more interconnected than ever, the stakes could not be higher.
For business leaders in manufacturing and industrial sectors, the threat landscape is intensifying, and resilience is the only way forward. Choosing the right cyber security systems, whether modernised or newly built, will determine not only who survives, but who thrives.Read other recent news: https://industrial-compliance.co.uk/category/news/
