The Unique Cybersecurity Risks in the Manufacturing Sector

For the fourth year running, in 2025, the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index crowned the manufacturing sector as the number one targeted industry for cybercrime, representing 26% of incidents. The problem is so bad that manufacturing has even managed to defy malware’s decline, with attackers exploiting the industry’s legacy technology to deploy ransomware at a massive scale. But why is the manufacturing sector so vulnerable? What unique cybersecurity risks does it face? And what role do industry standards and compliance play? Why Manufacturing Is So Vulnerable The manufacturing sector is…