Industry 4.0 is driving convergence, or blending of traditionally separate and disparate technologies, approaches and disciplines, to enable new capabilities, hybrid disciplines, approaches and opportunities.
The Industry 4.0 environment brings new sensors, networked devices and digital components to the manufacturing process at unprecedented levels (Barrios, Schippers, Heiden & Pappas, 2019). Industry 4.0 is driving convergence, or blending of traditionally separate and disparate technologies, approaches and disciplines, to enable new capabilities, hybrid disciplines, approaches and opportunities (Schippers, Forsythe, Simko & Pappas, 2020). A critical component of Industry 4.0 is connectivity – driving capabilities, opportunities and threats.Connectivity is the enabler of digital transformation for manufacturing, but it is also an enabler of cyber risk. Cyber (cybersecurity) risk is potential loss or exposure of digital/physical assets/devices, originating from an organization’s cybersecurity approach, also referred to as cyber risk mitigation or cyber hygiene (Schippers, Simko, Richards, 2020). As manufacturers eye new capabilities and benefits, cyber risk mitigation will be the deciding factor for the winners and losers within the Industry 4.0 evolutionary landscape.
