CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Strong cybersecurity is essential in today’s business environment. In May, we visited a smart factory for lessons on how to fend off hackers. This conference has helped many companies protect their investments.
This is just one example of how they continue to move our economy forward.
Dennis Hall of Peak Performance Smart Factory said: We held a featured panel that included both KENCO Group and Mueller Industries. And they were able to share with us their best practices and experiences with attacks. ”
Andy Davies, senior vice president of information technology at Mueller Water Products, said: “We had a cyber incident last October, and there were many, many discoveries that came out of that and all the learning that came out of that. It’s good to share with other manufacturing colleagues. We’re a $1.2 billion, $1.3 billion organization. We have multiple manufacturing facilities, you know…in Tennessee. We’re headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and we’re primarily a North American organization, but we also have facilities in Israel, the United Kingdom, China, and more.
Davis also said, “It can happen to anyone. It happens to everyone eventually. We all have to be prepared for it. We have to plan. There are still things we can do for free. But you also need to consider your operational technology to be a threat. So how do you protect that operational technology? If you need to maintain business continuity and control in the event of a threat, How can we stay in business?”
Bill Pickel, Senior Security Engineer at Kenco Logistics. In other words…it’s rampant. And whether you want to admit it or not, you’re next. You are on the list of people to be attacked. Now, do they violate you? Early detection and prevention of damage largely depends on someone identifying the risks in the environment. I know what to look for and I know what the kill chain is. If this attack is detected, how can I stop it? One place to strengthen your defenses is at your front door. And that’s email. So 80-90% of attacks come through that front door. ”
“So educate your people. Make them your human firewall. They need to be aware of what suspicious emails look like. Every organization needs some kind of security department. Often, there’s just one IT person who is given the role, “You’re also responsible for security, network desktops, and everything else.” But you can’t just send them out for class once. It’s not just about learning IT and having that knowledge. It’s very professional,” Pickel said. “So you have to send someone in for cybersecurity training. But these certifications usually come with continuing education requirements to maintain the certification.”