A man in a white shirt presents on cybersecurity threats for small manufacturers via a video call. His screen displays a slide titled "Cybersecurity Resources for Small Manufacturers," along with logos and images of industrial environments.

Small Manufacturer Cybersecurity Resources in the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Workshop by NIST Leader

The Cybersecurity Workgroup supporting the Manufacturing Extension Partnership ( MEP), which serves small and medium-sized manufacturers in 50 states and Puerto Rico, was given a presentation in June 2023 by NIST Networked Control Systems Group Leader Keith Stouffer. Online access to the presentation is available.

According to Stouffer, manufacturers have experienced more cybersecurity incidents than other crucial infrastructure sectors. As a result, NIST offers cybersecurity resources for manufacturing-related operational technologies. These tools are made accessible online by NIST. Key publications were summed up by Stouffer in the manner described below.

Security Revision 3: Public Draft of the NIST SP 800-82 Guide to Operational Technology ( OT ) was released. Soon, the third revision will be released. Over three million downloads and 2,200 citations were made of its earlier version. Updates to NIST’s updated version include:

  • vulnerabilities and threats
  • Risk management OT
  • security on OT
  • OT security features
  • Alignment with security on OT standards, guidelines, and NIST’s Cybersecurity Framework
  • Low, moderate, and high impact OT systems ‘ security control baselines

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is modified for use in manufacturing by this profile, which is called the” Machine Security Framework Version 1.1 Manufacturing Profile” ( NISTIR 8183 Revision 1 ). It provides cybersecurity procedures that meet the needs of manufacturers while minimizing system performance risks. The profile was evaluated by NIST’s cybersecurity for OT testbed, which assessed the effects of 42 technical capabilities-related cybersecurity practices. The following instructions can be used to implement the profile:

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