promise. According to one estimate: » The cloud service market (worldwide) is estimated to exceed $623 billion by 2023. » Half of businesses spend more than $1.2 million a year on cloud services. » As of 2019, the manufacturing industry expected to spend more than $5 billion annually on cloud services. How does cloud computing figure into manufacturing? Extensively, because so many industrial operations are computerized. This affects not only office tasks like payroll and email, but plant functions such as alarms, sign-in systems, data sharing between machines, and sensors that boost efficiency on product lines. Cloud computing is a scalable resource that enhances innovation and competitiveness, according to the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. In a 2017 report, the foundation underlined cloud computing's role in operations, supply chain integration, product design and fabrication, and even influencing how consumers use their products. With cloud resources, even small manufacturers can access new production systems including 3D printing, the internet of things (IoT) and industrial robots.
Great Potential, Rich Targets One reason managers welcomed the cloud is that they recalled what their data processing operations used to look like. For many industries, it was a gigantic room, cool and dimly lit, filled from floor to ceiling with shelves of humming servers. When something went wrong with the equipment in that room, people lost their internet, operations skidded to a halt and email went down. Then everyone had to wait until the I/S staff fixed the problem. Cloud computing providers like Microsoft—a major player in the industry with its Azure business—sold the cloud as a dependable alternative to all that. Local problems like a hardware glitch or severe weather matter much less when operations are backed by multiple off-site servers. Azure proclaims selling points ranging from cost-efficient storage of massive amounts of data, to machine learning and artificial intelligence to aid decision-making. Cloud computing providers also promise enhanced security. But it's a mistake to regard the cloud as an unassailable citadel protecting all your data 24/7. Cybercriminals, including malicious nation-state actors, use the same types of tactics with cloud systems as with
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other data systems, and for the same reasons: to steal money and secrets, disrupt operations, and glean information they can use or sell. Cloud systems are just another rich target. In one case, hackers were able to drill into the email of a CEO planning to make a major purchase of robotics equipment. Replicating the seller's credentials, they sent a phony invoice to the CEO and received a payment of $50,000. In two other cases, mentioned in an NSA report, publicly accessible cloud storage exposed sensitive data and authentication credentials from the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA), and data meant for the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). Hackers' tools allow automated efforts to repeatedly probe cloud-based data for passwords and other credentials. Eventually, some of these efforts will pay off. Withholding or freezing data for use in ransomware threats is more difficult with the cloud—but not impossible.
Precautions and the Pandemic Best practices can guide manufacturers in safeguarding their data. These strategies are prudent whether or not a company has vast resources in the cloud: » Schedule updates and take them seriously. Old passwords and outdated usernames have put out the welcome mat for many a hacker who discovers them. » Train employees to be aware of cybercrime threats. During the pandemic, they might even be encountering tactics such as phishing that are disguised as health information or offers of cool face masks. » Limit the number of people who have access to data systems. That means fewer chances for breaches that could imperil company data or halt operations.
