How To Lose Millions Without Getting Hacked

Manufacturing cybersecurity mistakes that cost millions without a hacker in sight, and the steps that prevent them, in this rewind episode. We pulled one of our earliest conversations out of the archive, and it hits harder now than when we first recorded it. Dino and Craig share stories from the plant floor about mistakes that quietly cost manufacturers millions: A vending machine with a duplicate IP address that took down a $35 million wheel press Thirty Siemens PLCs that wiped their own IP addresses after an IT technician scanned the wrong network at the wrong time Federal agents who scanned a beverage plant’s control system while hunting malware on its mail servers A steel mill that had to choose between pulling an unpatched server off the network and shutting the plant down None of these came from a sophisticated attacker. Competent people doing normal jobs caused them, with no idea how the plant floor would react. Dino explains what actually closes the gap: an accurate asset inventory, a network built to contain mistakes, continuous monitoring, control over remote access, and an incident response plan rehearsed before the bad day arrives. His advice for where to start is to run one tabletop exercise and name one owner for plant floor security at every site. Chapters: (00:00:00) Cold open: a soda machine takes down a $35 million wheel press (00:01:12) The incidents that never make the news (00:02:26) Thirty Siemens PLCs reset their IP addresses to zero (00:05:38) When federal agents scan your control network (00:07:02) WannaCry, SMBv1, and the steel plant standoff (00:11:16) A pen tester can't tell a PLC from a printer (00:18:12) The air gap myth and the contractor laptop (00:21:09) Five ICS controls IT and OT can work on together (00:25:41) Windows 7 on the plant floor and the CISO's purview (00:31:22) Start here: a tabletop exercise and one OT owner per plant Links And Resources: Want to Sponsor an episode or be a Guest? Reach out here. Industrial Cybersecurity Insider on LinkedIn Cybersecurity & Digital Safety on LinkedIn BW Design Group Cybersecurity Dino Busalachi on LinkedIn Craig Duckworth on LinkedIn Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to Industrial Cybersecurity Insider? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube to leave us a review!