Almost half of industrial firms suffer network problems monthly

One in three industrial companies encounter regular network problems, with 45% of businesses experiencing them a few times a month, while only 12% of respondents stated they face such challenges once a year or less. 

These are among findings highlighted by Kaspersky in a new report, which investigating the network and information security challenges faced by geo-distributed companies.

Kaspersky commissioned a global market research study, surveying 1,000 Network and Information Security decision makers across six regions.

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Respondents were based in the Americas; Europe; the Middle East, Turkey and Africa; Russia and the Asia-Pacific (Singapore, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia).

The study finds that industrial companies usually operate using a geographically distributed infrastructure with factories, branch offices and other critical facilities located in different sites. 

This peculiarity can lead to a series of problems such as logistical issues, communication barriers, difficulties in coordinating operations, maintaining consistent quality standards and ensuring compliance with local regulations.

In addition to the challenges mentioned above, industrial enterprises with multiple locations regularly face IT infrastructure and information security issues. 

According to the Kaspersky report, 49% of manufacturing companies found the effective detection and resolution of cybersecurity incidents was the most challenging task. 

They also cited monitoring the implementation of security measures (46%) and building a cohesive security policy (42%) as significant difficulties.

Almost 30% of respondents stated that they regularly experienced network problems such as network failures or outages, poor performance of services and applications, and inadequate connection capacity. 

Also, 38% of them encountered such challenges one to three times a month, while 28% faced them every couple of months, and 7% even experienced them every week.

Regarding the time required to restore the network after a failure or an outage, the majority (74%) of respondents said they usually needed between one and fi e hours, while 15% stated they spent no more than an hour, and 10% required up to one full working day. 

Downtimes like these lead to significant financial and reputational damage and can cost thousands of dollars per minute and even more per hour. 

Thus, it’s important for companies to prevent possible network interruptions and they should be capable of repairing them rapidly if they arise.

Maxim Kaminsky, business development manager at Kaspersky, said network issues in industrial enterprises often result in delays, a decline in production levels, financial losses, and reputational risks. 

Kaminsky said that when a network goes down, communication and business processes are interrupted, employees lose access to crucial information, and all this leads to a drop in productivity and even erodes customer trust. 

“Therefore, companies should protect their operations to ensure business continuity,” he added. “By understanding the potential causes of network problems and implementing timely strategic measures, companies can combat these challenges and safeguard all the processes.”