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Hidden Risks on the Factory Floor: What a Rogue Employee Taught Us About Manufacturing Cybersecurity

Posted by [email protected] on Jul. 28, 2025  /  Subscribe 0

5 moves you can make today to lower your data risk

A Houston manufacturer recently faced a security problem that didn’t start with ransomware or a hacker.

It started with one of their own employees.

An employee, working remotely, quietly outsourced his entire job to an offshore contractor — all while collecting his paycheck and working another job on the side.

For months, no one noticed.

Not the IT manager.

Not the plant director.

Not HR.

The only reason the scheme came to light? The offshore contractor stopped getting paid — and threatened to leak sensitive company data.

This wasn’t phishing or cybercrime. It was a freelancer, holding production specs, machine data, and internal communications hostage.

If payments had continued, the company might never have known.

Why Processes Matter More Than Firewalls

Manufacturers often focus on outside threats — firewalls, VPNs, IIoT security — but internal risks can be just as damaging.

Key blind spots:

Why It Hits Manufacturing Hard

For manufacturers, a data breach isn’t just about reputation — it’s about production halts, broken contracts, and lost intellectual property.

Imagine your designs, vendor terms, or machine settings in the hands of someone with no confidentiality agreement or security training.

This isn’t just an IT issue. It’s an operations issue.

5 Moves You Can Make Today

Bottom line:

Reducing hidden risk isn’t about paranoia — it’s about tightening the processes that protect your people, your operations, and your reputation.

Nadeem Azhar is Founder & CEO of PCSN. Contact him at [email protected]

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