As manufacturing organisations accelerate their adoption of AI and automation to optimise production and enhance efficiency, the cyber threat landscape is evolving at an equally rapid pace. According to LevelBlue’s 2025 Spotlight Report: Cyber Resilience and Business Impact in Manufacturing, there is a widening gap between the growing sophistication of cyberattacks and the preparedness of manufacturers to defend against them. This disconnect highlights the urgent need for organisations to treat cyber resilience as a strategic business imperative rather than a reactive IT measure.
Emerging Threats Targeting Manufacturing Weaknesses
The report, based on a survey of 220 global manufacturing executives, underscores the growing concern around AI-powered cyberattacks and advanced threat vectors. While 44% of leaders anticipate AI-driven attacks in the near term, just 32% believe their organisations are equipped to defend against them.
Equally alarming is the rise of deepfake and synthetic identity threats. Nearly half of respondents (47%) expect such attacks to target their businesses, yet only 30% feel adequately prepared. This gap poses significant risks as attackers exploit manipulated media and fake identities to deceive both employees and supply chain partners.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks remain another pressing concern, particularly as insecure IoT devices and geopolitical tensions amplify their frequency and impact. The survey reveals that only 37% of manufacturing companies are confident in their ability to mitigate such attacks effectively.
In addition, data security and privacy remain persistent challenges, cited by 55% of respondents as their primary concern. Weaknesses in the software supply chain present further risks, with 54% admitting to very low to moderate visibility into supplier security practices, and only 26% prioritising supplier engagement on cybersecurity credentials. These blind spots create vulnerabilities that can cascade throughout the entire manufacturing ecosystem.
Building a Cybersecurity-First Culture
Recognising these risks, manufacturers are beginning to integrate cybersecurity into core business strategies. LevelBlue emphasises that cyber resilience must now be viewed as a foundation for maintaining customer trust, securing supply chains, and enabling innovation.
Kory Daniels, Chief Security & Trust Officer at LevelBlue, notes: “Cyber resilience is no longer optional – it’s becoming a strategic imperative for manufacturers in order to maintain customer and supply chain trust.”
Encouragingly, the report shows progress in several areas:
- 65% of organisations now hold leadership accountable through cybersecurity KPIs.
- 70% are educating employees about social engineering tactics, crucial against AI-powered phishing.
- 55% factor cybersecurity budgets into new initiatives from the start.
- 69% say adaptability in cybersecurity practices allows them to take innovation risks more confidently.
Key investment priorities include machine learning for pattern matching (71%), application security (67%), and generative AI defences against social engineering (64%). Enhanced software supply chain security (63%) is also climbing higher on the agenda.
However, the report warns that adoption of Zero Trust Architecture remains limited, with only 34% of manufacturers making significant investments in this proactive defence model that continuously verifies user identities and reduces attack surfaces.
Four Steps to Strengthen Cyber Resilience
LevelBlue outlines four essential steps manufacturers should take to boost cyber resilience:
- Align cyber resilience with executive-level business decisions to ensure security is integrated from the top down.
- Foster a culture of transparency where employees can easily report suspicious activity without fear.
- Engage external cybersecurity experts for strategy, training, and independent validation.
- Prioritise supply chain security by conducting rigorous supplier assessments and implementing confidence scoring.
A Critical Juncture for Manufacturers
With AI-powered adversaries leveraging automation to deploy ransomware, craft realistic deepfakes, and infiltrate global supply chains, the manufacturing sector faces a turning point. Cyber resilience is no longer a technical safeguard but a business enabler, balancing the need to protect assets with the drive for innovation.
As Daniels concludes: “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.”
For manufacturers worldwide, the message is clear: strengthening cyber resilience is not just about defence – it’s about ensuring long-term competitiveness in an era where technology and cyber threats evolve hand in hand.
