Cyber security for UK manufacturers.

Ransomware is the biggest risk for UK manufacturers, because a single infected machine on the IT network can spread into OT and SCADA systems and halt an entire production line for days. Other major risks include supply-chain attacks entering through supplier or customer portals, phishing targeting finance and operations staff, and theft of designs, formulations or tooling data by competitors or nation-state actors. Legacy machinery and PLCs that can't be patched add further exposure. Because downtime directly costs money, manufacturers are attractive ransomware targets: attackers know production businesses are more likely to pay quickly to get lines running again.

Network segmentation separates your office IT network from the OT and SCADA systems that run production, so a compromise on one side can't automatically spread to the other. We map your existing network, identify where IT and OT currently overlap, and introduce firewalls, VLANs and access controls between them, typically without touching production during working hours. Monitoring is then applied to both zones so unusual traffic between them is flagged immediately. Done properly, segmentation means a phishing email that infects an office laptop cannot reach the machines controlling your production line, dramatically reducing the blast radius of any single incident.

Manufacturers hold high-value intellectual property, run production systems that can't tolerate downtime, and increasingly sit inside larger supply chains that demand proof of security before awarding contracts. A ransomware incident can stop production for days, costing far more than the cost of prevention, while a breach of design or customer data can end a tier-1 relationship. Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus are now baseline requirements for many automotive, aerospace and government supply chains, so investing in security isn't just about avoiding incidents — it's increasingly a condition of winning and keeping contracts in the first place.

Costs vary depending on the number of sites, endpoints, OT complexity and which services you need, so we scope pricing after a short discovery call rather than quoting blind. As a guide, Cyber Shield awareness training starts at £0.99 per user per month on the Team plan, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. Managed services such as 24/7 SOC monitoring, EDR and vulnerability management are typically priced per device or per user on a monthly contract. We'll always give you a clear, itemised proposal before any work starts — no vague day-rate estimates.

Cyber Essentials certification typically takes one to three weeks once you've completed the self-assessment questionnaire, assuming no major gaps are found. Deploying 24/7 SOC monitoring and EDR across office and production endpoints usually takes one to two weeks per site, scheduled around maintenance windows so it doesn't interrupt production. Full IT/OT network segmentation is more involved and can take several weeks to a few months depending on the complexity of your existing infrastructure and legacy equipment. We phase the work so you get protection early — monitoring and email security first, deeper segmentation and hardening after.

Yes. Smaller manufacturers are frequently targeted precisely because attackers assume they're less protected than large enterprises, and many still hold the same sensitive designs, customer contracts and supply-chain access as bigger firms. Cyber Essentials is designed with smaller businesses in mind and is often the single biggest step you can take, both for baseline protection and for winning contracts that require it. We scale services to fit smaller teams and budgets — you don't need an in-house security function to get 24/7 monitoring, managed endpoint protection and structured incident response.

The main benefits are reduced downtime risk, faster detection of threats before they spread from IT into production, and the ability to win and retain contracts that require Cyber Essentials or supply-chain security evidence. You also get predictable monthly costs instead of unplanned incident-response bills, staff who are less likely to fall for phishing after proper awareness training, and a UK-based team who understand shop-floor realities rather than treating your factory like an office. Overall, it turns cyber security from a reactive scramble after something goes wrong into a planned, budgeted part of running the business.

General IT providers are good at keeping systems running day to day, but cyber security is a specialist discipline requiring 24/7 monitoring, threat intelligence and incident response experience that most IT support contracts don't include. Many manufacturing breaches happen precisely because monitoring stops at 5pm or OT systems fall outside the IT provider's remit. We regularly work alongside existing IT providers rather than replacing them, handling security monitoring, EDR, Cyber Essentials and incident response while your IT provider continues managing day-to-day support — the two roles complement each other rather than compete.