Maintaining Consistent Performance in Manufacturing Control Systems Using Deep Freeze

Faronics developed Deep Freeze to be a useful tool for numerous organizations and companies, from public libraries to large corporations with remote and hybrid work policies. Our solution helps protect workstations and make IT management more efficient. But it’s not just office and educational environments that can benefit from Deep Freeze. The manufacturing industry can also use it.

What Is a Manufacturing Control System?

A manufacturing control system, or MCS, refers to any collection of techniques, technologies and processes manufacturing companies use to manage, monitor and optimize their operations. An MCS can integrate different aspects of the manufacturing process, such as machines, the workers who run them and information systems. The objective of manufacturing control systems is to manage the production flow and make it as efficient as possible, helping factories and plants achieve production goals without sacrificing quality and safety standards, all while minimizing waste.

Are Manufacturing Control Systems High-Tech?

They certainly can be. When we think of high-tech workplaces today, we think of data centers or any work that requires a bank of computers, constantly connected to the internet and completing numerous computations or transactions every second. But the manufacturing sector is pretty advanced these days, and not in the mechanical, Rube Goldberg-type way that we see in old cartoons.

There is, of course, the physical hardware. This includes machinery and equipment, such as actuators, controllers and sensors. This hardware facilitates various manufacturing tasks.

But there’s also a great deal of software involved in the average MCS. This usually means specialized applications that process the data they receive from the hardware and provide staff and managers with insights and performance metrics. This data analysis is critical for making informed decisions about whether to ramp up or decrease manufacturing, and how to make it more efficient.

With networking infrastructure, an MCS can enable real-time data exchanges between machines, staff and systems. Human operators use a variety of tools and dashboards to monitor and manage production processes effectively.

Management Control System Vulnerabilities

The average MCS is more vulnerable to cyberattacks than ever before because of increasing interconnectedness with IT networks and the internet. Here are some common MCS cybersecurity and IT vulnerabilities:

Older Technology

It takes time — and money — to introduce industrial control systems. Many organizations don’t have the budgets or the desire to replace their MCS very often. As a result, many plants operate on legacy systems that were not designed with modern cybersecurity in mind. These older systems may lack built-in security features and aren’t easy to patch or upgrade without risking operational disruption. 

Minimal Downtime Tolerance

Manufacturing operations can be highly sensitive to downtime, leading to significant financial losses. This can create internal resistance to change — if upgrades or replacements equal a stop in production, stakeholders can get worried. This is particularly troublesome because it makes manufacturers attractive targets for ransomware attacks. Threat actors know manufacturers are often desperate to avoid downtime, so by holding operations or data hostage, cybercriminals can more easily convince their victims to simply pay the ransoms in return for restoring operations.

Lack of Cybersecurity Awareness

Unfortunately, ransomware attacks may be more likely because manufacturing staff, particularly those in operational roles, often lack cybersecurity awareness. The career trajectories of these professionals differ from those who have worked in offices their whole lives. As a result, they may not have the necessary familiarity with cybersecurity to detect sophisticated attacks like phishing or social engineering.

Inadequate Security Policies

Many organizations lack comprehensive cybersecurity frameworks that govern all aspects of their operations, including manufacturing control systems. This can lead to weak access controls, insufficient security audits and poor incident response plans.

Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

Manufacturers often rely on complex networks of suppliers and vendors. A vulnerability in a third-party vendor’s system can create an entry point for attackers to infiltrate the manufacturer’s network. A supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link, after all. Insufficient oversight and varying cybersecurity maturity levels among partners exacerbate this risk.

Misconfigurations

Poorly configured security settings can leave commonly used ports open for intruders to exploit. This can happen due to a lack of formal training on networking, IT security policies and cybersecurity for engineers who manually configure devices.

Insufficient Visibility

A lack of tools and practices to monitor manufacturing control systems makes it difficult to detect unusual network traffic, unauthorized access attempts or indicators of compromise, allowing threats to go undetected for longer.

How Can Deep Freeze Help?

Deep Freeze by Faronics can help solve all these common MCS issues and more. Deep Freeze is a suite of products Faronics offers on a Software-as-a-Service model. It provides a modern and efficient way to manage and administer manufacturing control systems, their computerized operations, the data they use and their overall performance. 

With Deep Freeze, you can take greater control of your MCS. One key feature is our patented Reboot to Restore function. This technology can restore all your systems to a pristine state with every reboot. If a threat actor has gained access to your MCS or a new staff member has erroneously made an unauthorized alteration, all you have to do is reboot the system and then you’re back to the state you need. 

This ensures your MCS is always running optimally. With such a powerful solution working for you, you don’t have to worry about the efficiency or cybersecurity of your MCS. You can just enjoy simplified IT and enhanced safety. Deep Freeze can also help you reduce downtime and extend the lifespan of your MCS.

Deep Freeze makes it easy to manage and survey your MCS, ensuring it’s protected and operating efficiently. Please reach out to our experts today to learn more about how Deep Freeze can protect and optimize manufacturing control systems.