CYBERSECURITY, A KEY ELEMENT IN THE CANNED BEVERAGE INDUSTRY

Food and beverage companies face significant challenges in protecting their information and operations, so they must have a cybersecurity plan in place.

Now that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the rules of the game for everyone around the world, and has put supply chains to the test, smart manufacturing has proven its advantages in dealing with the emergency, but that carries data and operational security risks.

In this regard, Marcelo Sereno, Consumer Industry Manager for Latin America at Rockwell Automation points out that “many companies do not have the knowledge of what their current risks are and where they should start implementing integration and cybersecurity projects”.

This leading industrial automation and digital transformation company has identified three strategies that food and beverage manufacturers must address to meet the challenges of connectivity in their operations such as cyber hygiene, defense-in-depth strategy, as well as planning for the continuous cycle of attacks.

In relation to cyber hygiene, it is clear that it is necessary to start with an in-depth inventory of the connected assets in the plant, create programs that address vulnerabilities and employ mechanisms for backup and recovery of all critical assets.

On the other hand, organizations must develop their security based on the idea that any single point of protection is likely to be neutralized by attackers, so a defense-in-depth strategy creates several layers of protection through physical, electronic and procedural barriers to provide greater security.

Planning for the continuous cycle of attacks is also crucial in cybersecurity, which is why constant vigilance is crucial. For this reason, organizations must have systems in place to monitor and detect all network behavior in order to be able to react, adjust the system and prevent potential threats from perpetrators.

In this sense, continuous connectivity and smart devices are the catalysts for smart manufacturing, but they can be a gateway to new security threats. To point out that between 60% and 73% of all data within a company is not used for analysis, which affirms the need to have policies for the management and protection of each productive sector.

This is why the proportion of beverage companies hiring for “cybersecurity” related positions continues to grow exponentially. Of all jobs advertised in the global beverage industry last month, 1.7% were related to cybersecurity. Companies that are investing in these areas are now considered to be better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.