Proactive protection against cybersecurity threats in distribution centres

As protecting against cybersecurity threats moves from being a sole priority of the IT department to a business-critical matter, those operating in distribution centres are no longer just acting when risks arise, but instead proactively monitoring risk levels.

Awareness of threat levels varies between distribution centres, but they will all benefit from a resilient and comprehensive cybersecurity defence, which ensures productivity, a competitive edge, and a strong reputation.  Often, a strong choice is to outsource cybersecurity for material handling systems to a specialised system provider, who has a deep level of knowledge and proven experience across multiple handling systems and devices.

WHY MUST DISTRIBUTION CENTRES BE VIGILANT ABOUT CYBERSECURITY?

When sophisticated cybersecurity attacks occur, they lead to suspended operations and system downtime that can have long-lasting impacts.
If successful attacks do occur and are not swiftly managed, they can lead to excess downtime, reputational harm and a negative financial impact. As a result of this, cybersecurity has become something which is an organisational effort rather than just a fix that’s needed if problems arise.
Cybersecurity is often a complex setup, which may stretch the abilities of a busy in-house security team. It’s important for distribution centres to be aware of the risks that come from cyberattacks and the areas where more attention is needed in order to make informed decisions about how they are managing their security.

WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL FOR DISTRIBUTION CENTRES TO OUTSOURCE CYBERSECURITY?

One of the main tasks for cybersecurity teams is patching, where small updates are made to software programs or systems that prevent vulnerabilities and problems with functionality. This is something that a distribution centre’s own internal IT teams are able to do; however, there are limitations in how they do it.

Internal teams may have one or a few employees who are responsible for patching, amongst a number of other responsibilities. As they have to manage this task alongside broader company IT responsibilities, a response may not be timely (statistics suggest that an average organisation takes between 88 and 208 days to patch cyber vulnerabilities). While this is no fault of a busy team working across an entire organisation, it does permit hackers more time to corrupt the system. In turn, this leads to further difficulties or more system downtime. The longer that downtime lasts, the more expensive it is for the company, as workflows pile up and paid workers on the floor are unable to do anything.

While internal IT teams can patch systems, sometimes in a timely manner, they are not experts in material handling systems. If a system fails to come back online after remediation, or does not operate as expected, internal IT teams often lack the system speciality required to explain why. To cover the variety of sortation system knowledge, an internal team would need specialists in PLCs, network devices, storage, servers, OS, Linux and more.

OUTSOURCING SECURITY ENSURES SPECIALIST ACCESS AND FUTUREPROOF SOLUTIONS

Specialist cybersecurity teams are composed of specialist professionals across all the areas that may be needed in distribution centres. For example, they may have patching experts who are used to carrying out hundreds of patches on material handling systems per year. This is a higher frequency than any internal team could have, and also means that if any problems arise, the specialists are likely to have seen them before and know how to quickly fix them.

There are also specialists for every level that is needed, meaning that when a material handling system needs patching, the distribution centre would be provided with a combined team from the system supplier’s side. The team would include a system specialist who is used to working in the exact kind of system and could check it before and after patching, a specialist who identifies exactly what has caused the problem (if it is the case that there was any specific cause), and one who does the patching itself. This results in a much more robust approach to fixing any issues that arise, and a lower likelihood of there being ongoing issues that are problematic for the distribution centre.

When signing up for a system provider’s cyber security, part of the package to check for should also be access to specialists in compliance and regulation. These security specialists are often part of the security package connected to a material handling system, as they are aware of any new regulations, how to manage data audits, and the best practices for documenting data security. They will know which new regulations are coming in and have experience with the best practices for handling them, which is a level of expertise that the distribution centre will rarely have in-house.

Expert cybersecurity companies will also have learnings from their other customers in the industry, know the best practices for ensuring future-proof solutions, and act proactively to prevent successful attacks. Experts can act as soon as they learn of new threats or experience different attacks, meaning that they are on top of the knowledge and can act in a precautionary manner, rather than waiting to act only when an attack happens.

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU’RE OUTSOURCING DISTRIBUTION CENTRE SECURITY

While outsourcing cybersecurity offers a variety of benefits, it is also not a decision to be taken lightly. Often, the material handling system provider will have an option for software services, and these can guarantee expert-level knowledge of that specific system.

Regardless of the choices that are being considered for outsourcing security, the following elements are important to consider when selecting a cybersecurity provider:

• Risk vs cost: Distribution centres must individually assess how to balance risk against cost when it comes to cybersecurity. Opting for the highest level of protection often comes with a higher cost; for example implementing rapid-response patching protocols which can be costly and require system downtime to maintain optimal security. A slow-response patching protocol would be cheaper, but runs the risk of not remediating issues in time, which may result in more cost overall, as there is more system downtime, with knock-on impacts. While the system provider’s cybersecurity team will always be on hand to help with any issues that arise, the choice of risk level must be decided by the distribution centre and be a decision they are comfortable making.
• Contracts: Security contracts must be specific. Where they are more generic or loose, distribution centres run the risk of not receiving the protection level that they desire. Although it may seem as though more elements are covered in a broad contract, the contract actually needs to specify very clear Service Level Agreements and Responsibility Assignment Matrixes in as much detail as possible. This ensures that everyone knows the exact plan and responsibilities if an incident does occur, and there is no confusion at a vital time.
• Evidence: Proven experience is one of the most important things when choosing a provider. For example, if a cybersecurity provider can tell you that they patch more than 100 systems, or more than 3000 devices, it is a clear sign that they have sufficient experience and specialist profiles across different types of devices. As a result, they will most likely have experienced multiple issues before and be able to quickly and effectively respond to any difficulties.
• Compliance and maturity: Depending on location, there are different compliance regulations that must be covered by cybersecurity activities. One example of this is ISO 27001, which is a framework to ensure information security and demonstrate that companies have a commitment to information security. If, when choosing a provider, they state compliance with the ISO or equivalent certification, this is a sign that they are of a sufficient maturity level and have demonstrated structured risk management.
• Partnership focus: Outsourcing security marks a partnership with external specialists, where the distribution centre remains fully accountable for their security posture. There is an ongoing dialogue between the internal security team at the distribution centre and the supplier, to ensure alignment on incident response plans, threat monitoring and continuous improvement. It does not mean the distribution centre no longer takes responsibility, instead a strategic collaboration of shared responsibility provides a strong solution. Outsourced teams are experts; however, they also need to learn from their customers and understand where they can both improve. One example of this can be regular workshops, where the distribution centre and the provider help each other become better and act strategically.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Cyber attacks are no longer a case of if, but a question of when. In response to this, there are multiple things distribution centres can do to ensure their safety, and the exact steps taken will vary depending on the size of the distribution centre, their budget, their risk profile, and so on.

One easy step for distribution centres to take is to ensure their organisation has sufficient training at all levels. Often, attacks come through something as simple as an unprotected laptop and investing in distribution centre-wide training will significantly improve security across the entire centre, and through third party operations. Education and awareness of best practices are important for mitigating as much risk as possible.

While no distribution centre can ever be completely immune to cyberattacks, keeping systems up to date significantly reduces the risk. For those seeking a proactive, forward-looking approach to cybersecurity, outsourcing to a specialised security company offers robust protection, minimises potential damage, and helps establish a resilient, future-ready defence strategy.