Why Yorkshire’s Manufacturing Sector Is a Cyber Target

ByBNW TEAM

Yorkshire manufacturers have a problem that doesn’t show up on the factory floor. From steel producers in Sheffield to food and drink businesses across the Humber, the region’s industrial backbone is attracting attention from cybercriminals.

Manufacturing now records more cyber incidents than any other sector in the UK, and about 3 in 4 UK manufacturers have experienced a cyber incident in the past year, with more than half reporting losses above £250,000. Here’s why it’s happening and what manufacturers can do about it.

Connected Factories, Open Doors

Modern manufacturing runs on connected systems. Programmable logic controllers, SCADA platforms and industrial sensors now sit on networks that were never designed with security in mind. Many of these operational technology (OT) systems were installed years ago, long before anyone considered the idea of a cyber attack on a production line.

The issue is that these systems are increasingly linked to corporate IT networks and the internet. Remote maintenance, real-time monitoring and cloud-based analytics all require connectivity. Each connection is a potential way in for an attacker.

Unlike banks or tech firms, most manufacturers haven’t built dedicated cybersecurity teams. Security budgets tend to be smaller, and in-house expertise is often limited to general IT support. That gap between connectivity and protection is exactly what attackers exploit.

What Makes Manufacturers So Attractive to Attackers

Manufacturers hold two things cybercriminals want: valuable intellectual property and an urgent need to keep production running. Proprietary designs, supplier contracts, customer data and trade secrets all live on company networks. A breach can hand competitors or hostile states years of R&D overnight.

Then there’s the ransomware angle. When a ransomware attack shuts down a production line, every hour of downtime costs real money. Orders go unfulfilled, contracts are at risk and penalties start to stack up. The 2025 Jaguar Land Rover attack halted production for around five weeks and cost an estimated £1.9 billion across the wider UK economy, with knock-on effects hitting more than 5,000 UK suppliers. That pressure will make manufacturers more likely to pay a ransom quickly, and attackers know it.

Regular assessments of both IT and OT environments will help manufacturers spot weak points before an attacker does. That’s why modern, state-of-the-art UK cyber security services are not becoming vital for manufacturers all around the country. These external specialists bring experience across multiple sectors and often catch vulnerabilities that an internal team will not be familiar with and will easily miss.

Where the Weak Points Are

For most Yorkshire manufacturers, the biggest risks fall into a few specific areas:

  • IT and OT network boundaries where industrial systems connect to business networks without proper segmentation
  • Remote access points used by third-party engineers and equipment vendors for maintenance
  • Legacy systems running outdated software that no longer receives security patches
  • Staff awareness, particularly among shop floor workers who may not recognise phishing emails or social engineering attempts

Each of these creates an entry point that a well-prepared attacker can use to move from a corporate email inbox all the way into production-critical systems. The government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 found 74% of large UK businesses and 67% of medium-sized ones identified a breach or attack in the previous year, with medium and large manufacturers sitting firmly in the firing line.

Steps That Will Actually Reduce Risk

The first priority is network segmentation. IT and OT systems should run on separate networks with strict controls governing traffic between them. If an attacker compromises a workstation in the accounts department, they shouldn’t be able to reach the systems controlling a rolling mill or a packaging line.

Access control for remote connections matters just as much. Every third-party engineer who dials in for maintenance will need a unique, time-limited account with access only to the specific equipment they’re servicing. Shared passwords and always-on VPN connections are still common in manufacturing, and they’re a gift to attackers.

Staff training also needs a rethink. Generic office-based phishing awareness courses won’t cut it for a manufacturing environment. Training will need to cover scenarios specific to the shop floor, like USB devices left near workstations or unfamiliar visitors near network access points.

Finally, every manufacturer will need an incident response plan that accounts for production continuity. A plan designed for an office-based data breach won’t work when the priority is keeping a 24/7 production line running safely. The plan should spell out who makes decisions about shutting down systems, how to switch to manual operations and who contacts customers about delays. Right now, only 32% of UK businesses have a business continuity plan covering cybersecurity, which leaves most of the sector exposed.

Don’t Wait for a Shutdown to Act

Yorkshire’s manufacturing sector employs tens of thousands of people across food and drink, metals, chemicals and advanced engineering, and that scale makes it a prime target. The combination of connected industrial systems, valuable IP and historically lower cybersecurity investment creates exactly the kind of target attackers look for.

The good news is that the most effective defences aren’t complicated. Segment your networks, lock down remote access, train your people for real-world scenarios and have a response plan ready before you need one. For manufacturers who take these steps now, the cost will be a fraction of what a single ransomware attack will demand.