en.Wedoany.com Reported - UK industrial automation company Transicon is partnering with Siemens to host a webinar aimed at helping small and medium-sized manufacturers address operational technology (OT) cybersecurity challenges.
Transicon, which has provided industrial automation and control system solutions since 1967, plans to hold this expert-led online session on July 21. As part of its Industry Masterclass series, the event will bring together experts from both companies to offer OT cybersecurity guidance for smaller manufacturers.
The session comes amid increased demand for Transicon's expertise in upgrading legacy control systems, while new data released by security firm ESET reveals the scale of threats facing UK manufacturers. According to the ESET for Manufacturing report, 78% of UK manufacturers experienced cybersecurity incidents in the past 12 months, with 95% reporting business disruptions as a result. Three-quarters of manufacturers suffered production downtime of one to seven days following an incident, over half of affected businesses faced financial losses exceeding £250,000, and nearly one-fifth reported losses of more than £1 million.
Despite the significant risks, the same study found that only 22% of manufacturing organizations assign cybersecurity responsibility to board or executive leadership, while 55% leave it primarily to IT teams. Experts from Transicon and Siemens note that this responsibility gap leaves many manufacturers vulnerable.
Niall Sephton, Senior Project Engineer at Transicon, said these findings reflect what the company actually observes among its customer base. He noted that many manufacturers mistakenly believe that good IT security means OT is also protected, but OT cybersecurity is an entirely different domain, with many control systems and PLCs still running in UK factories installed decades ago when connectivity and cybersecurity were not considerations. As these systems become increasingly interconnected, risks grow, yet personnel on-site are often unaware of this.
The webinar, held in partnership with the Manufacturing Revenue Growth Summit, will be hosted by Laura Hayton, Head of Business Development at Transicon. Niall Sephton will join Marie Aylward, Cybersecurity and Network Sales Specialist at Siemens, in a conversational format to share first-hand experiences, discussing real-world challenges facing the industry and available solutions. This free session is designed specifically for small and medium-sized manufacturers, which typically lack dedicated cybersecurity resources and may be unsure where to start.
The session will cover key differences between OT and IT security, common shortcomings in cybersecurity implementation within actual manufacturing environments, and how to build practical, phased improvement approaches without disrupting operations.
Marie Aylward, Cybersecurity and Network Sales Specialist at Siemens, said that when manufacturers consider cybersecurity, they usually focus first on technology and systems, but based on experience, the most significant vulnerabilities often come down to people and processes. Properly securing an OT environment requires investment in three areas: technology, people, and processes, and many small and medium-sized enterprises have not yet achieved this.
Niall added that this masterclass aims to provide manufacturers with a clear, practical framework to assess their current situation, understand priorities, and begin making progress, rather than resorting to scare tactics or overwhelming businesses with technical complexity. The webinar is free to attend and is intended for operations managers, engineering managers, production leaders, maintenance and control engineers, and anyone responsible for the security and resilience of manufacturing systems.
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