WHITE PAPER
Securing Shared Workstations in Manufacturing Against Modern Cyber Threats
Protecting critical systems across the factory floor and industrial environments with modern authentication.
Manufacturing today faces an evolving, highly sophisticated cyber threat landscape and AI is used to supercharge these attack vectors. Malicious tactics like phishing and attacker-in-the-middle operations have become virtually indistinguishable from genuine communications, leaving your organization exposed. Because shared workstations, kiosks, and industrial devices act as the operational backbone of the shop floor, securing these entry points is no longer optional—it is critical.
The Reality of Manufacturing Cyber Risk by the Numbers:
- $5 Million: The average cost of a data breach within the manufacturing industry.
- 72%: Of cyberattacks targeting operational technology (OT) systems originate from IT as the entry point.
- 180,000+: Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and OT systems exposed monthly to the public Internet.
The Challenge: Why Shared Workstations Are Prime Targets
On a fast-paced factory floor, operations rely completely on speed, agility, and efficiency. However, the very nature of shared devices makes them low-hanging fruit for both cybercriminals and insider threats.
High shift rotations, seasonal turnover, and reliance on third-party contractors mean multiple “roving users” must authenticate to the same workstation throughout the day. To save time, workers often fall back on risky workarounds like sharing passwords or systems that lack proper cyber hygiene.
Evaluating authentication for shared manufacturing workstations goes far beyond stopping cyber threats. A viable solution must integrate across legacy and modern systems, optimize user productivity, minimize long-term total cost of ownership (TCO), and withstand harsh shop-floor environments—all without relying on unpredictable variables like spotty cell coverage or batteries. Further, in environments that are air-gapped or entirely isolated from the internet, relying on standard mobile push apps or SMS is impossible. Hardware-based authenticators bring modern, phishing-resistant defense straight to these legacy networks without requiring a costly infrastructure overhaul.
What You’ll Learn in This White Paper
This comprehensive resource maps out the journey to phishing-resistant authentication across your IT and OT infrastructure. Download your copy to explore:
- The Anatomy of ICS and SCADA Attacks: How malware like “Pipedream” exploits compromised credentials to move laterally, elevate privileges, and disrupt physical machinery.
- Common Vulnerability Scenarios: A deep dive into the hidden security gaps found in shared kiosks, mobile-restricted zones, and grab-and-go device environments.
- Four Critical Authentication Requirements: Why any successful security solution on the factory floor must strictly balance security, efficiency, reliability, and durability.
- The Path to True Zero Trust: How to replace weak single-factor passwords and SMS OTP codes with secure, hardware-backed, device-bound passkeys.
- Real-World Case Studies: Insights into how industry leaders Schneider Electric and Mitsubishi Electric successfully modernized their authentication stack to secure their global supply chains.
“To proactively protect our supply chain, we work closely with key vendors to create dual encryption as both the vendor and Schneider Electric have YubiHSM modules built into the manufacturing process. We introduced YubiKeys in our power operation SCADA systems to increase security with MFA. This process allows an operator to come on shift, authenticate quickly, and to take actions when appropriate, without any system interruptions. MFA ensures only authenticated users can gain access to operate the system.”
“Our aim was to eliminate account takeovers by adopting stronger MFA. Adopting YubiKeys has made it easy for us to continuously move our authentication strategy forward. Our goal is to enable passwordless authentication for all users in the future.”
Secure Your Ecosystem: Humans, Machines, and Agents
| Solution | Target Area | Core Capabilities |
| YubiKey | Human-to-Machine | Deploys phishing-resistant multi-factor and passwordless authentication to harden user access across IT, OT, SCADA, and ICS environments. Requires no batteries, software, or cell service. |
| YubiHSM | Machine-to-Machine | Protects the cryptographic foundation of automated processes, ensures component authenticity, prevents software-key theft, and safeguards production integrity. |
Don’t let a single compromised password disrupt your business continuity. Equip your workforce with a durable, IP68-certified hardware root of trust that enables operators to securely tap-and-go in seconds—even while wearing protective gear. Protect your humans, your machines, and your production integrity with the strongest defenses.