In manufacturing, even a brief period of downtime means lost productivity, missed deadlines, and significant financial impact. As operations become increasingly reliant on digital infrastructure - across both IT and OT (operational technology) environments - the potential risks multiply. Whether it’s a network outage, a malware infection, or a misconfigured access policy, vulnerabilities in your systems can have very real consequences on the factory floor.
An IT risk assessment is a structured, proactive approach to identifying and addressing those vulnerabilities. It helps you understand where your weaknesses lie, what the consequences could be, and how to put meaningful protections in place. For manufacturers, this process isn’t just about compliance or data security, it’s about business continuity, resilience, and control.
Understanding IT Risk In A Manufacturing Context
In many industries, IT risk assessments focus primarily on data: protecting customer information, financial records, or intellectual property. These elements matter in manufacturing too, but the scope is often broader. Here, an IT risk may also mean:
- Unplanned downtime caused by system failures or cyber incidents
- Safety risks due to compromised control systems or IoT devices
- Intellectual property theft affecting product design or R&D
- Operational delays triggered by supplier system outages
- Regulatory non-compliance in sectors with strict quality or data standards
Critically, manufacturing companies must account for the crossover between traditional IT systems (emails, file storage, ERP platforms) and OT systems (SCADA, PLCs, HMIs). These two environments are often managed separately, but risks can cross those boundaries. A phishing attack might start with an email account but quickly spread to connected machinery if segmentation is poor or patching is inconsistent.
Read our guide to cyber security threats for manufacturing companies.
Why Risk Assessments Matter on the Factory Floor
It’s easy to think of cyber threats or system failures as theoretical, especially when day-to-day production is running smoothly. But manufacturers face a unique combination of pressures:
- Many production environments rely on legacy systems that aren’t easily patched or replaced
- Operational teams may have limited visibility into network architecture or vulnerabilities
- Third-party systems and remote access points (e.g. for maintenance) increase the attack surface
- Cyber criminals increasingly target manufacturers due to their reliance on uptime and willingness to pay ransoms
A risk assessment gives your organisation clarity. It gives decision-makers a clear picture of where things stand, which systems are most exposed, and where to focus investment. It removes guesswork from cyber security and IT planning and paves the way for strategic action.
Key Components Of A Manufacturing IT Risk Assessment
A good risk assessment should be tailored to your environment, but most will cover the following areas:
Asset Inventory
Begin by identifying everything connected to your network. That includes laptops, desktops, switches, servers, printers, manufacturing equipment with network interfaces, remote access tools, and cloud services. You can’t protect what you don’t know you have.
Read our guide to cloud services for manufacturing companies.
Network and Access Controls
Review how your network is structured. Is it segmented? Who has access to which systems? Are accounts managed effectively when staff leave or roles change? Are third-party vendors granted access to internal systems?
Vulnerability Scanning and Patch Management
Identify software or firmware vulnerabilities. Are your systems running outdated versions? Are updates being applied regularly? For OT systems where patching isn’t always possible, are compensating controls in place?
Backups and Recovery Readiness
Check that backups are happening regularly, are encrypted, and are stored off-site or in the cloud. Test your ability to restore systems quickly if needed.
Physical and Environmental Risks
Consider risks related to unauthorised physical access, power interruptions, or environmental factors like heat and dust. These are especially relevant for equipment on the shop floor.
Human Factors
Assess staff awareness, password hygiene, and training levels. Human error remains one of the most common sources of incidents, even in highly automated environments.
Incident Response Preparedness
Determine whether there’s a clear, documented process for responding to IT incidents. Do key staff know what to do in case of a breach or system failure? Is there a communications plan in place?
Common Oversights In Manufacturing Environments
Even well-resourced businesses can fall into blind spots when it comes to IT risk. Some of the most common include:
- Assuming OT systems are isolated when in reality they’re connected to wider networks
- Overlooking the need to update firmware on production equipment
- Failing to remove access privileges from former employees or contractors
- Not testing backups regularly to confirm restorability
- Relying on perimeter security without monitoring internal activity
- Treating IT risks as “just an IT issue” rather than an operational concern
A risk assessment helps surface these issues early - before they result in a data breach or unplanned shutdown.
Embedding Assessments Into Ongoing Processes
IT risk assessments shouldn’t be a one-time exercise. Instead, they should become part of your wider risk management and operational improvement processes. This might include:
- Incorporating IT risks into your health and safety or quality audits
- Reviewing and updating assessments annually, or after major system changes
- Making risk reviews part of your supplier onboarding process
- Reporting key risk indicators at board level to maintain visibility
- Linking IT risk outputs to your disaster recovery and business continuity planning
By integrating IT risk into routine operational management, you reduce the chances of problems being overlooked or sidelined.
Turning Risk Insights Into Action
Once you’ve identified your risks, the next step is action planning. Not every issue needs to be solved immediately, but prioritising based on impact and likelihood helps you focus on what matters most.
Short-term, low-cost actions might include:
- Enforcing password updates or introducing multi-factor authentication
- Adjusting user permissions to limit access to sensitive systems
- Restricting USB use or other removable media
- Delivering short training sessions on phishing awareness
- Segregating your network into zones (e.g. separating admin and production systems)
Medium to long-term actions might include:
- Replacing unsupported hardware or software
- Reviewing backup architecture or disaster recovery plans
- Investing in a managed detection and response service
- Upgrading firewalls and implementing traffic monitoring tools
- Engaging in more formal compliance or certification processes
A good IT partner can help you build and prioritise this roadmap, ensuring it’s both technically sound and realistic.
Read our guide to compliance and accreditations for manufacturing firms.
Why It’s Worth Doing
Risk assessments take time, but they pay dividends. Beyond compliance or insurance needs, they offer peace of mind. They reduce the chance of unexpected disruptions, make budgeting easier, and demonstrate to clients and regulators that your organisation takes security and continuity seriously.
They also create dialogue between different departments, and when everyone is working from the same understanding of risk, it’s easier to make smart decisions about investment, change, and growth.
Turning Risk into Resilience
Manufacturing is increasingly digital, and with that digital evolution comes new challenges. But with the right processes in place, those challenges are manageable. A thorough IT risk assessment helps you understand where your vulnerabilities are and what to do about them.
In an environment where every minute of uptime counts, it could be one of the most valuable investments your organisation makes. To find out how a risk assessment could benefit your manufacturing business, book a free consultation with our experts today.
