Your manufacturing is secure. Really?

When a cyberattack doesn’t just shut down machines, but brings your entire business to a standstill

When a cyberattack hit Toyota supplier Kojima Industries in 2022, 14 Toyota plants came to a standstill within a matter of hours. Around 13,000 vehicles were not produced – triggered by the failure of a single company in the supply chain.

But the actual damage went far beyond production: orders could not be processed, delivery commitments could not be met, and the effects spread across the entire value chain.

A similar situation occurred at Norsk Hydro: After a ransomware attack, the company had to switch parts of its production to manual operations. The damage amounted to over 60 million euros – not only due to production outages, but also because of disrupted business processes, delayed deliveries and severe operational constraints.

Both companies had backups. What they lacked, however, was the ability to restore their systems and processes quickly enough to maintain stable business operations.

Therefore, the crucial question is not whether data is backed up – but what happens within the company when it is unavailable.

When downtime affects more than just production

Nowadays, a cyberattack or IT failure rarely affects manufacturing companies isolated.

What initially appears to be a technical problem quickly turns into a business-critical scenario: systems fail, processes break down, and departments stop working in sync.

The consequences are immediately noticeable. Orders can no longer be processed because ERP systems are unavailable. Deliveries are delayed or stop entirely because shipping and logistics processes are down. Invoices cannot be issued, which directly impacts cash flow. Similarly, customer requests go unanswered because the necessary information is missing.

The actual damage does not occur at the moment of the outage, but in the time it takes to fully resume business operations. And it is precisely this period that is underestimated in many companies.

Why traditional security measures are not enough

Many manufacturing companies invest specifically in protecting their systems: firewalls, network security, access controls and measures in the OT environment are often of a high standard.

Yet despite all preventative efforts, reality looks different: Attacks cannot be completely prevented.

Therefore, in the event of an emergency the key question is not whether an attack occurs, but how the company is able to respond to it.

This is precisely where a blind spot arises. While significant investments go into preventing incidents, the ability to recover quickly often remains unclear. Backups exist, monitoring works, processes are documented – but whether the company can actually resume operations quickly under real conditions is rarely tested.

The result: a false sense of security.

What really happens in an emergency

When central systems fail, many companies resort to an improvised recovery process.

The IT department begins restoring individual systems, often in parallel and under intense time pressure. At the same time, production is waiting for approvals while commercial processes remain blocked.

It is only at this point that the interdependencies between applications, data and processes become visible. Systems may come back online, but not in sync. Data is inconsistent, workflows do not align, and decisions must be made ad hoc.

The result is rarely a complete standstill – but rather a situation that is far more difficult to control: a company that functions partially but operates in an unstable and unpredictable manner.

It is precisely during this phase that the greatest costs arise.

Typical weaknesses in recovery

Recovery has never been tested under real conditions In many companies recovery processes exist – but usually only under idealised conditions. What works in testing often fails to hold up in a real-world scenario. Time pressure, parallel recovery efforts and real system dependencies cause planned procedures to not work as intended. As a result, the actual recovery time is often unknown.

Critical systems are not clearly prioritised ERP systems, databases, applications – in a crisis, everything seems equally important. Without a clearly defined order of priority, shortages arise in terms of resources and decision-making. Systems are started in parallel even though they are interdependent, which unnecessarily delays the entire recovery process.

Dependencies between systems are underestimated Business processes nowadays span multiple systems. Order data, production information and commercial processes are closely interlinked. If one system is restored in isolation, the necessary data or connections to other applications are often missing. The recovery process is delayed, even though individual systems are already available.

Backup infrastructure itself is a target Modern cyberattacks specifically target backup systems. Backups are encrypted, deleted or rendered unusable. If backup and production systems are not sufficiently separated or protected, the foundation for rapid recovery is missing in the event of an emergency.

Each of these weaknesses can be solved individually. However, when combined, they lead to unnecessary delays in recovery – with direct consequences for manufacturing, turnover and customer relationships.

The real constraint: business recoverability

Many companies believe they have a backup problem, but in reality, they have a recovery problem.

A backup restores data – but what really matters in an emergency is something else: the ability to get business-critical processes back running quickly and reliably.

This involves not only technology, but also clear priorities, coordinated procedures and an understanding of which systems are truly essential for operations.

Without this foundation, recovery remains a technical process rather than a controlled restart of the business.

The underestimated factor: Grown IT structures

An additional risk factor lies in the IT landscape of many manufacturing companies, which has evolved over the years.

Different systems, multiple backup solutions and a lack of transparency regarding dependencies significantly increase complexity in a crisis.

What works during normal operations becomes a challenge in a crisis. Different recovery processes, varying responsibilities and a lack of coordination prolong the path back to stable operations.

Therefore, the question is not only whether backups exist, but whether the underlying architecture still meets the requirements for a rapid and controlled restart.

How to tell if you are truly prepared

The resilience of your setup isn’t determined by the number of systems or tools being used, but by clear answers to specific questions.

How long would it take for your business to be operational again following an outage? Which systems are truly business-critical, and in what order must they be restored? When was the recovery process last tested under realistic conditions? And how well do you actually understand the dependencies between your systems and processes?

Anyone who cannot answer these questions clearly is at risk – regardless of how robust the technical safeguards may appear at first glance.

The next step: from assumptions to clarity

Most companies do not need to completely rebuild their entire IT infrastructure straight away.

The first step is a realistic assessment: how resilient is your current recovery capability and where are the greatest risks to your business operations?

This is exactly what the Backup-Architecture-Check for production environments is designed for. In just a few minutes, you’ll receive an initial evaluation: How well are your systems prepared for an outage? Where do critical dependencies exist? And which factors could delay your restart?

 Start the backup architecture check

If you want to go further and understand the specific risks arising from your current setup and where your recovery might stall in an emergency, a more in-depth analysis is recommended.

In a brief consultation, you will receive a structured assessment of your current situation: which vulnerabilities are critical today, which dependencies could delay your business operations, and which measures should be prioritised to ensure your ability to act in an emergency.

Arrange a consultation with experts

SEP develops and operates backup and recovery solutions entirely within the European legal framework, with the clear goal of enabling organisations to maintain genuine control and achieve fast, reliable recovery in critical situations.