It’s time to regard cybersecurity as human safety Tabletop exercises with senior leaders, evaluating employee reports of risk and engaging training programs should be part of plants’ regular safety procedures. The manufacturing industry has a strong culture of evaluating risks to human safety and managing those risks by deploying controls, such as safety procedures and employee training. Yet cybersecurity has historically been held apart, based on a belief that it is somehow different. As the world moves to Industry 4.0, it’s time for manufacturers to remove the artificial wall between risks to safety and risks to cybersecurity and take a comprehensive approach towards managing business risk. It would be unthinkable for a manufacturing company to not have policies and safety procedures to effectively reduce the risk and impact of a fire that could lead to the loss of human life and a plant shutdown. These compliance operations include regular safety inspections, teaching employees to follow equipment safety checklists and providing employees with a means to report risks, such as near misses. However, consider that earlier this year, an industrial leader was forced to shut down its manufacturing plant due to a fire caused by a piece of malfunctioning equipment. This was not due to a physical defect or a lack of safety inspections; rather, it was due to a successful cyberattack. While these kinetic cyberattacks have often been the stuff of Hollywood films, they are real, and cause significant material physical and financial damages. Fortunately, there are several steps that manufacturers can take right now to better secure their plants – and people – against future attacks. 1. While preventing cyber accidents could be stated as every employee’s responsibility, meaningfully incorporating this new behavior into a company’s culture must start with senior leadership. C-suite executives can model good cybersecurity by