Islamabad: One in three industrial firms frequently experiences network issues, with 45% of businesses encountering these problems several times a month, while only 12% of participants reported facing such challenges once a year or less. These insights are highlighted in a report by Kaspersky, which examined the network and information security difficulties encountered by geo-distributed organizations.
Industrial firms typically operate with a geographically spread infrastructure, including factories, branch offices, and other essential facilities situated in various locationsCyber threats to 27.2% of industrial systems in Pakistan: Kaspersky reports.
Companies with multiple sites often deal with IT infrastructure and information security challenges. The Kaspersky report, titled ‘Managing Geographically Distributed Businesses: Challenges and Solutions,’ revealed that 49% of manufacturing firms found effectively detecting and addressing cybersecurity incidents to be their most daunting task. They also identified monitoring the enforcement of security measures (46%) and developing a unified security policy (42%) as major obstacles.
Nearly 30% of respondents indicated they consistently faced network issues, such as outages, poor service performance, and insufficient connection capacity. Among them, 38% experienced these challenges one to three times a month, 28% encountered them every couple of months, and 7% faced issues weekly.
In terms of recovery time after a failure or outage, the majority of respondents (74%) reported needing between 1 and 5 hours for restoration, while 15% claimed they required no more than 1 hour, and 10% needed up to a full business day. Such downtimes can lead to substantial financial and reputational damage, costing thousands of dollars per minute and even more per hour.
“Network challenges in industrial companies often lead to delays, reduced production levels, financial losses, and reputational risks. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to safeguard their operations to ensure continuity. By understanding the potential causes of network issues and taking timely strategic actions, companies can address these challenges effectively,” says Maxim Kaminsky, Business Development Manager for Secure Access Service Edge at Kaspersky.
To reduce the likelihood of network issues and establish robust protection for all assets and processes within industrial companies, Kaspersky suggests utilizing OT XDR platforms such as Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity (KICS). This solution offers centralized asset and risk management, security and compliance audits, and unmatched scalability, ensuring reliable protection for industrial networks and automation systems.
For managing corporate networks from a single console, organizations can employ a specialized solution like Kaspersky SD-WAN. This product integrates separate communication channels and network functions across enterprises, enhances application performance, and supports the creation of dependable networks for geo-distributed operations. If advanced protection is required, companies can combine both solutions, integrating Kaspersky SD-WAN with Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity.
To read the complete report ‘Managing Geographically Distributed Businesses: Challenges and Solutions,’ please visit the website.
