Walk onto any modern plant floor and you can almost feel the data moving — sensors humming, robots pivoting, dashboards lighting up with real‑time insights. That digital heartbeat runs on operational technology (OT), yet every new connection is a new cyberattack surface. Executives have noticed, frontline teams have noticed and, judging by recent data, nearly every manufacturer on the planet has noticed enough to act.
Rockwell Automation’s 10th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report captures the shift. Drawing on responses from 1,560 decision-makers across 17 leading manufacturing nations, representing companies that range from $100-million operations to multi-billion dollar enterprises, the survey ranks cybersecurity right alongside safety, throughput and cost as a core performance metric. When cyber resilience sits shoulder‑to‑shoulder with production KPIs, the discussion shifts from “Should we invest?” to “How fast can we prove payback?”
According to the report, 96% of manufacturers have already or plan to invest in cybersecurity platforms within the next five years, and more than half are already adopting cybersecurity at-scale. Executives who once treated security as a compliance tax now ask how many audit hours disappear, how much downtime is avoided and how quickly AI‑ready data streams open up once networks are hardened. In short: Resilience has become a profit lever.
This blog unpacks six forces pushing OT cybersecurity from afterthought to backbone — 1) universal platform adoption, 2) budget synergies with automation, 3) board‑level risk scrutiny, 4) secure‑by‑design hardware, 5) a cyber‑literate workforce and 6) a culture where safety and security share the same hard hat. Use the insights that follow to benchmark your program, refine your metrics and turn every security dollar into operational lift.
1. Near‑Ubiquitous Adoption of OT‑Security Platforms
Survey insight: Nearly every manufacturer is adopting an OT security platform. 64% already run one, and 32% plan to deploy in the next five years or less.
Interest in OT security platforms has crossed the tipping point. With implementation now a forgone conclusion, the conversation pivots to payback. Executives now quiz vendors on how many audit hours can be saved, how quickly patches can be deployed and how much unplanned downtime can be decreased. Teams that link risk dashboards to metrics that operations and finance already track — think OEE or mean time to recovery — hold the upper hand.
Actionable insights
- Capture pre‑deployment baselines so the first quarterly review shows unmistakable ROI.
- Translate closed vulnerabilities into dollars saved — lost‑production minutes avoided, compliance prep slashed — to resonate with finance.
- Feed security health into production dashboards so plant leadership sees it driving, not dragging, performance.
2. Cybersecurity Becomes a Smart Manufacturing Deal‑Maker
Survey insight: 53% of manufacturers list securing OT assets as a primary spark for technology investment.
More than half of respondents are already adopting security at-scale. This digital transformation shift recasts security leaders as growth enablers. Position hardened networks as the foundation for predictive maintenance, real‑time energy management or AI‑assisted quality checks, and risk reduction suddenly comes with revenue upside. Looming deadlines, like NIS2 in Europe or CISA’s directives in the U.S., only sharpen executive focus.
Actionable insights
- Pair security spend with automation ROI to secure a larger piece of transformation budgets.
- Write funding proposals in tandem with digital innovation teams to widen the pool of available capital.
- Use regulatory milestones to anchor timelines and accelerate approvals.
3. Cybersecurity Remains a Top Five External Threat for Manufacturers
Survey insight: 30% of respondents rank cyber risk among their most serious external obstacles.
Executives and the insurers that underwrite their risk now expect precise metrics: projected financial loss if a cyber incident hits, how often response drills are run and what they uncover, and a clear, scored view of control maturity across the OT environment. It falls to security leaders to translate technical vulnerabilities into business terms like lost revenue, potential downtime and brand impact, so executives can weigh cybersecurity spending against other capital priorities.
Actionable insights
- Model cyber scenarios in financial terms so directors grasp exposure at a glance.
- Run tabletop exercises quarterly to keep response muscle memory fresh and highlight gaps before auditors — or attackers — find them.
- Loop in insurers during control planning to lock in better premiums before the next renewal cycle.
4. Secure‑by‑Design Hardware Takes Center Stage
Survey insight: 31% aim to curb OT risk with embedded security controls.
Controller-level access rules, signed firmware and onboard telemetry are becoming standard features. These deeper defenses, however, demand disciplined firmware-lifecycle management and procurement language that prioritizes security alongside performance specifications.
Actionable insights
- Mandate secure‑boot and signed‑firmware clauses in every RFQ to future‑proof incoming assets.
- Schedule firmware updates like IT patches — with rollback plans and test windows — to avoid surprise outages.
- Ingest device‑level logs into existing SIEMs for earlier detection and richer context.
5. Cyber Skills Move from “Nice to Have” to Baseline
Survey insight: 81% of respondents place high or top-tier priority on knowledge around cyber practices and standards. Nearly half of manufacturers (47%) rank these skills as “extremely important” when hiring over the next 12 months, with another 34% calling them “very important.”
Manufacturers are embedding micro-training into shift handovers, funding certifications and tying security performance (e.g., patch compliance) to individual reviews. Over time, secure behavior becomes as routine as lockout/tagout procedures.
Actionable insights
- Integrate short cyber lessons into daily huddles to build awareness without interfering with production.
- Reward secure behavior — for example, rapid patch completion or incident‑free quarters — to reinforce good practices.
- Sponsor role‑relevant certifications (e.g., IEC 62443, CISM) to develop in‑house expertise.
6. Culture, Not Technology, Is the Final Hurdle
Survey insight: Employee culture and leadership awareness emerge as equal pain points to adoption: 25% of manufacturers say employee resistance to change blocks smart manufacturing rollouts, and another 25% flag limited cybersecurity awareness among senior decision-makers as a top leadership obstacle over the next 12 months.
Mindset, not knowledge, often slows progress. Operators may see additional controls as production bottlenecks, while managers prioritize short-term output. Embedding cybersecurity in the broader safety culture, supported by recognition programs and cross-functional drills, turns secure behavior into shared muscle memory.
Actionable insights
- Discuss cyber risks in the same breath as safety risks to elevate their perceived importance.
- Spotlight teams achieving security milestones — fast patch cycles, incident‑free quarters — to normalize good habits.
- Run joint IT/OT incident drills so responders know each other’s playbooks before it counts.
Conclusion
Taken together, these six trends show a clear pivot: OT cybersecurity is no longer a bolt‑on afterthought but the connective tissue of modern manufacturing. Universal platform adoption, investments tied to transformation, board‑level risk scrutiny, secure‑by‑design hardware, a cyber‑literate workforce and a maturing safety‑plus‑security culture will define 2026. Companies that act now will shrink risk, speed innovation and cement customer trust. Those that wait may find resilience — and market share — harder to recover.
Methodology
Rockwell’s 10th annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report analyzed feedback from 1,560 respondents from 17 of the top manufacturing countries with roles from management up to the C-suite and was conducted in association with Rockwell Automation and Sapio Research. The survey sampled from a range of industries including Consumer Packaged Goods, Food & Beverage, Automotive, Semiconductor, Energy, Life Sciences, and more. With a balanced distribution of company sizes with revenues spanning $100 million to over $30 billion, it offers a wide breadth of manufacturing business perspectives. Note that data and statistics referenced in this release may be sourced from the raw survey data and not included in the report itself.