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22 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2022 In the manufacturing world, we increasingly rely on internal and outsourced security part- ners to keep our IT networks safe. One report stated that as many as 50% of manufacturing companies have already been the target of ran- somware attempts. erefore, there is more work to do, especially on the neglected IT net- work. Industry requirements, such as CMMC, invoke costs and difficulties. But like traceabil- ity in the past, with the right preparation, this "burden" can be turned around to become a near zero cost, or even a benefit. You vs. the Hackers As operational security in the market evolves, hackers are increasingly "le-shiing" their operations toward the source of targeted prod- ucts: manufacturing. Unlike biological viruses, hackers oen share their intrusion tools freely to disguise their origin, resulting in a whole stream of concurrent attacks, each with differ- ent motivations and intents. Risk increases so that our seemingly genuine Smart personal, household, automotive, medical, and defense products could suddenly turn against us. It's no joke that there may be hackers who would like to create a game of "Zombie Cars," taking remote control of vehicles. ey would suddenly take over as you drive along the free- way and use it as a tool to extort money from you; this is technically possible. (Examples of such remote control can easily be seen on You- Zombie Cars: The Next Pandemic Is Digital Smart Factory Insights Feature Column by Michael Ford, AEGIS SOFTWARE