Securing the Food Chain: A Dairy Giant Leads the Way in OT Security
Ensuring business continuity in the food and beverage industry necessitates robust cybersecurity measures to protect the food supply chain. Recently, a global dairy processing manufacturer took a proactive approach to this growing threat. Instead of waiting for an attack to occur, the company tackled the complex challenge of securing both new and legacy, multi-vendor Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) across its vast operations.
In this blog post, we’ll explore their approach to PLC security, detailing the intricate challenges they faced and the innovative solution they implemented.
The Challenge
With over $2 billion in annual sales and more than 50 operational facilities worldwide, this dairy giant faced significant security challenges across its established and newly opened plants. Their existing security systems for legacy and multi-vendor PLCs were inadequate. The company’s reliance on multiple PLC vendors, combined with a workforce of over 1,000 employees and numerous outsourced third-party technicians, created a complex security landscape. They struggled to effectively manage authorized access and maintain accountability for PLC modifications.
These challenges created a pressing need for a comprehensive, vendor-agnostic solution that could provide centralized management, strict access controls, and robust traceability tools. To address these issues, the company turned to NanoLock Security’s OT Defender solution.
The NanoLock Solution
NanoLock OT Defender was chosen for its device-level, zero-trust prevention approach and compatibility with both new and legacy PLCs. Here’s a breakdown of how it addressed the dairy manufacturer’s critical needs:
- Enforced strict access controls across all PLCs
- Prevented unauthorized and unauthenticated access
- Provided visibility into configuration changes
- Implemented audit trails and traceability tools
- Offered role-based access management
- Enabled centralized management of all PLC vendors through a single interface
The Results
By implementing NanoLock OT Defender, the company achieved remarkable improvements in their OT security posture:
- Enhanced security and safety across all PLCs
- Mitigated risks associated with third-party contractors
- Improved visibility through centralized management of users and devices
- Seamless integration with existing systems, minimizing operational disruption
Perhaps most importantly, NanoLock OT Defender helped the company integrate prevention and safety measures directly into their operational processes. This proactive approach has significantly reduced the risk of insider threats, third-party contractor issues, and technician mistakes.
In an industry where production disruptions can lead to significant financial losses and food safety concerns, the importance of robust OT security cannot be overstated. NanoLock OT Defender has proven to be a game-changer for this global dairy manufacturer, providing the comprehensive protection and management capabilities needed to thrive in today’s challenging industrial environment.
Don’t wait for a security breach to act – take proactive steps to secure your PLCs today!
Download the full case study to learn more about how NanoLock OT Defender transformed the OT security for this global dairy manufacturer leader.
