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Interview
“ Rethinking how manufacturers approach cybersecurity from the beginning is critical because we ’ ve been doing it wrong for quite some time . In effect , we ’ ve been “ bolting on ” cybersecurity , and after a while , that just creates a house of sticks that isn ’ t secure . We were funded by the US DOE in 2020 to conduct cutting-edge research into how to secure Industry 4.0 and IIoT . While we have a national footprint , the University of Texas San Antonio is our home . The DOE recognized a nucleus forming in South Texas and acknowledged that we had the right ingredients to move the institute forward ,” she elaborates .
“ The area has the right mix of manufacturing capacity , knowhow , and skilled and available workforce . Texas has one of the largest defense industrial base footprints in the country , as well as extensive general manufacturing operations , and San Antonio is no exception . Likewise , as a military city , its culture of safety and security is second nature . Then , of course , this area ’ s leadership in cybersecurity research is the final piece in the puzzle to effect transformative change .
“ When we talk about smart manufacturing , it ’ s important to realize that everything is connected . Manufacturers are investing in sensors and various touchpoints to connect processes and enable production resilience , which in turn , necessitates enhanced capital investment in cybersecurity . For smaller enterprises , outsourcing cybersecurity is often the only viable option and consequently , many of the available solutions are discrete and localized . While this is okay for now , where we see things advancing is with embedded security . In effect , the next generation of cybersecurity solutions in the industrial space will be focused on secure , defensible architectures .”
To continue to operate the institute ’ s vital research work for the manufacturing sector , CyManII needs to be financially sustainable . In turn , this sustainability is intrinsically
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