When Manufacturing Ransomware Meets the Factory Floor

James Moore Helps Manufacturers Stay in Control

Manufacturing ransomware has been hitting the manufacturing sector harder than ever.

According to a recent Comparitech report, attacks jumped 25% in October, with manufacturers sitting squarely in the crosshairs alongside healthcare and transportation. For anyone running a plant, that statistic isn’t abstract. It’s a red flashing light.

At James Moore Technology Services, we see it firsthand: operational downtime, disrupted production schedules, suppliers on hold, customers waiting. A ransomware attack doesn’t just lock up data; it locks up your business. And in manufacturing, minutes lost mean money lost.

The good news? You can take decisive action today to reduce risk, improve resilience and recover faster if an attack hits. Here’s how we help strengthen SMB manufacturing cybersecurity to move quickly and secure their environment without derailing production.

Incident Response Planning: Clarity in Chaos

When an attack happens, uncertainty can cause as much damage as the malware itself.

Every manufacturer should have a clear, tested incident response plan that defines who does what, who communicates with whom and how to contain the damage.

We help clients design and test those plans so that industrial ransomware strikes, they act with precision, not panic.

Think of it like a fire drill for your business systems. It may feel uncomfortable, but it keeps you alive when the alarms go off.

Employee Education: The Human Firewall

Even the best tools fail if the people behind the keyboard aren’t prepared.

In one recent case, a mid-size manufacturer we work with faced a phishing email that looked exactly like a vendor invoice. A quick-thinking line supervisor spotted it and reported it because she’d just completed one of our simulated phishing exercises.

That one click not taken saved the company from days of downtime and thousands in potential ransom. Employee training isn’t a checkbox; it’s your front line of defense.

We help you build cybersecurity awareness programs for manufacturing teams that fit your team’s reality. No jargon, no lectures. Just clear, repeatable habits that stick.

Securing and Verifying Backups: Your Safety Net

Backups only help if they work. Too often, companies discover too late that their backups were incomplete, untested or stored in the same network that was just encrypted.

Our approach focuses on verified, immutable backups that are tested regularly and isolated from your production environment. That way, if manufacturing ransomware hits, your recovery path is real, not theoretical.

It’s like having a second set of keys in a safe across town. You hope you’ll never need them, but you’ll be grateful when you do.

Regular Patching: Closing the Front Door

Attackers don’t “hack” outdated systems; they walk through them.

Manufacturing networks often run legacy equipment that can’t be easily updated, and that’s exactly what makes them a target.

We work with you to create a patch management strategy for SMB cybersecurity that respects production schedules, prioritizes risk and ensures security updates don’t interfere with uptime.

Cybersecurity doesn’t have to mean operational disruption. It simply requires coordination.

Multi-Layered Security: Depth Over Drama

No single defense is enough. True resilience comes from layered protection.

We help manufacturers deploy:

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to secure remote and privileged access
• Active Directory tiering to limit lateral movement inside your network
• Immutable backups and air-gap storage that ransomware can’t touch
• Segmentation between IT and OT systems, so an attack on one doesn’t cripple the other

This isn’t about adding tools. It’s about engineering resilience into your digital and operational DNA. Our industrial ransomware protection strategies ensure your systems are ready to withstand evolving threats.

Case in Point: A Florida Manufacturer That Recovered in Hours, Not Weeks

One of our clients, a precision fabrication company, was hit with a ransomware attempt targeting its ERP system. Because we’d already helped them build a structured response plan, train employees and maintain secure backups, they were able to isolate the infected server within minutes.

Production was back online in six hours. No ransom paid. No data lost. The only thing the attackers got was a busy signal.

That’s what preparation looks like. It’s not luck, but deliberate design.

The Bottom Line

Manufacturing leaders are used to solving problems in the physical world: throughput, quality, maintenance, delivery. Cybersecurity feels abstract until it stops the line. Then it becomes painfully tangible.

The truth is, you don’t have to wait for that moment. You can act now. Create your plan, train your people, patch your systems and layer your defenses. We can help you do it without slowing production or drowning your team in complexity.

At James Moore Technology Services, we know manufacturing and we live cybersecurity. That combination matters because protecting your digital factory is just as critical as keeping your physical one running. Our manufacturing ransomware expertise ensures your operations remain resilient, efficient and secure.

Let’s start with an honest look at your resilience posture.

We can help you assess where you stand, identify fast improvements and build a roadmap that keeps your operations safe and your business moving.

Partner with us or reach out to our manufacturing specialists today to build a cybersecurity plan that keeps downtime off your floor.