Penetration Testing Services for Manufacturing
Manufacturers supporting the U.S. Department of Defense face security requirements that extend beyond traditional enterprise IT. Defense suppliers may need to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) across engineering workstations, production systems, file servers, cloud environments, and connected manufacturing infrastructure. CMMC assessments align with applicable security requirements, including NIST SP 800-171 for organizations subject to Level 2 requirements. Our penetration testing services help manufacturers identify and validate exploitable security risks across IT and operational environments, giving security and operations teams the insight they need to strengthen resilience while accounting for production requirements.
Protecting Manufacturing Operations Requires More Than Traditional Security Testing
Manufacturing was the most attacked industry globally for the fifth consecutive year, accounting for 27.7% of cyberattack cases observed in 2025. Public-facing applications were the top route into manufacturing networks, accounting for 32% of cases.
These figures highlight why traditional vulnerability scanning alone may not provide enough context for manufacturing environments. A penetration test validates whether identified weaknesses can actually be exploited and how an attacker could move from an exposed system toward higher-value assets across applications, connected environments, remote access, and other systems supporting production.
Secure the Systems That Keep Manufacturing Moving
Protect Production-Critical Systems
Evaluate the applications, servers, and infrastructure that support production to identify vulnerabilities before they impact manufacturing operations.
Assess Connected Operational Environments
Review operational technology, connected devices, and supporting infrastructure to identify security weaknesses across your manufacturing environment.
Secure Supplier and Third-Party Connections
Validate the security of remote access, vendor integrations, and connected systems that could introduce risk into your production environment.
Prioritize Risks That Affect Business Continuity
Receive actionable findings ranked by operational impact, helping your team focus remediation efforts where they matter most.
Understand Your Manufacturing Cyber Risk Before Attackers Do
Security Insights That Support Better Operational Decisions
Understand which systems present the greatest business risk, allowing security, IT, and operations teams to align remediation with manufacturing priorities instead of treating every finding equally.
Every recommendation explains not only what should be fixed, but why it matters to production, operational resilience, and the broader manufacturing environment.
Leave the engagement with prioritized next steps, technical guidance, and the confidence to improve your security posture with your operational requirements in mind.
The Best Time to Find a Security Weakness Is Before It Reaches the Production Floor
Manufacturing environments change constantly through new production technologies, supplier integrations, connected equipment, cloud adoption, and infrastructure updates. Each change can introduce new security exposure.
Schedule penetration testing before major technology deployments, facility expansions, supplier integrations, cloud migrations, or significant infrastructure changes. Testing at these points gives security and operations teams an opportunity to identify exploitable weaknesses and address them before they affect manufacturing processes.
What Manufacturers Ask Before Scheduling a Penetration Test
Why is penetration testing important for manufacturing organizations?
Manufacturing environments rely on interconnected production systems, enterprise applications, supplier networks, and operational technology to maintain daily operations. Penetration testing identifies exploitable security weaknesses before they can disrupt production, expose intellectual property, or affect critical business processes.
Which manufacturing assets should be prioritized during penetration testing?
Organizations prioritize internet-facing applications, ERP platforms, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), supplier portals, cloud environments, production support systems, and other business-critical assets. The final scope is tailored to your operational priorities and risk profile.
How is penetration testing planned around production operations?
Every engagement is planned around your operational requirements and agreed rules of engagement. Testing activities are coordinated to minimize disruption, with appropriate boundaries and stop points defined before testing begins. Sensitive systems may be excluded or subject to additional testing restrictions when required.
Can both enterprise IT and operational technology (OT) environments be included?
Yes. Depending on your requirements, the engagement can assess enterprise IT systems, operational technology environments, supporting infrastructure, and connected applications. The scope is defined during planning to align with your production environment and business objectives.
When is the best time to schedule a manufacturing penetration test, and how can manufacturers get the most value from it?
The best time is before deploying new production technologies, expanding facilities, introducing supplier integrations, migrating to the cloud, or implementing significant infrastructure changes. Manufacturers get the greatest value when the assessment is aligned with business priorities, the scope is clearly defined, key stakeholders are involved early, and findings are used to drive remediation rather than treated as a one-time exercise.
What security risks are most commonly found in manufacturing environments?
Common findings include insecure remote access, exposed internet-facing applications, weak authentication controls, vulnerable APIs, cloud misconfigurations, third-party integration risks, network segmentation issues, and other weaknesses that could affect production or business operations.
How are security findings prioritized after testing?
Findings are prioritized based on exploitability, business impact, and the criticality of the affected manufacturing systems. This approach helps security and operations teams focus remediation efforts where they will have the greatest operational value.
Can penetration testing help reduce production downtime?
Yes. By identifying exploitable vulnerabilities before they are abused, penetration testing helps reduce the likelihood of security incidents that could interrupt production, delay manufacturing processes, or impact operational availability.
Can penetration testing help strengthen supply chain security?
Yes. We test supplier portals, remote access pathways, third-party integrations, and internet-facing systems that could introduce security risks through external connections.
What should our team prepare before a penetration testing engagement?
Your team should identify the systems to be assessed, define business priorities, nominate key technical contacts, and communicate any operational constraints or production schedules that should be considered during testing.
Who should be involved during a manufacturing penetration testing engagement?
Successful engagements typically involve security teams, IT administrators, infrastructure owners, application teams, and, where applicable, operational technology personnel. Involving the right stakeholders helps streamline testing, validate findings, and accelerate remediation.
How long does a manufacturing penetration testing engagement take?
The timeline depends on the number and complexity of systems in scope, the testing approach, and operational constraints. The engagement timeline is established during planning so testing, reporting, and stakeholder walkthroughs can be coordinated around the manufacturing environment.