Cyber attacks are on the rise in the manufacturing and industrial spheres, especially with respect to web-borne threats.According to a report published by Statista last month, between October 2021 and September 2022, malware was the most common type of cyber incident in manufacturing organizations. The attack vector targeted around 37 percent of organizations in this sector worldwide, and Network and application anomalies ranked second, with 23 percent, while system anomalies followed, with 20 percent.

With so many benefits associated with digital transformation in the industrial sectors, manufacturers across the board have accelerated projects, in part due to the global pandemic. This includes everything from connected field service, sensor-based real-time monitoring systems, and more. All of this growth and innovation has had the effect of creating apparent attack vectors through which extremely well-funded bad actors and criminals are trying to enter these systems, often in search of “new revenue.”

Some IT teams have been caught off guard, especially by malware, adware, and social engineering that enable criminals to easily enter the digital estate of many of the largest and most sophisticated industrial enterprises in the world. In fact, IBM reported in February of this year that manufacturing was the most targeted sector for ransomware attacks in 2022, explaining that operational technology vulnerabilities combined with a low tolerance for downtime to put manufacturers in cyber-attackers crosshairs.

Manufacturing was the most targeted sector for ransomware cyber attacks and the most extorted industry in 2022, according to IBM Security’s 2023 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index.It was the second consecutive year the manufacturing sector held the top spot in the index.

“The shift towards detection and response has allowed defenders to disrupt adversaries earlier in the attack chain—tempering ransomware’s progression in the short term,” said Charles Henderson, Head of IBM Security X-Force at the time. “But it’s only a matter of time before today’s backdoor problem becomes tomorrow’s ransomware crisis. Attackers always find new ways to evade detection. Good defense is no longer enough. To break free from the never-ending rat race with attackers, businesses must drive a proactive, threat-driven security strategy.”

Today, DefensX, developer of a zero-trust secure browser, announced it has closed a financing round by Revo Capital, a venture capital fund investing in truly innovative, seed and early-stage B2B or B2C technology ventures. Even though it is a start-up, DefensX has been announcing a steady stream of channel distribution partnerships around the world; the NYC-based company now has implementations in North America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, and Europe Middle East and Africa. Revo Capital closed on an investment that will accelerate further expansion and software-as-a-service development.

With zero-trust threat prevention technology, DefensX makes sure the users are safe workinganywhere on any network or device, including desktops, laptops, iOS, and Android.

“Cybercrime has become sneakier and more sophisticated than ever before, affectingbusinesses of all sizes,” said Cenk Bayrakdar, Founding Partner & Managing Director, Revo Capital. “Especially with remote working, it has become crucial that every employee remains hyper-vigilant about cybersecurity. With a distributed workforce, organizations must ensure the broadened organizational surface is aware. SMBs need a solution that is scalable, affordable, and easily deployable. DefensX is this first line of defense, helping organizations stay ahead of threats. We are excited to join the DefensX founders on their journey to transform the nature of cybersecurity by liberating users with its context-aware approach.”

“We are so pleased and so honored that the team at Revo is placing their trust in us,” said Halis Osman Erkan, founder and CEO, DefensX. “As a highly strategic and focused team with a deep understanding of IT infrastructure and the evolution of cloud, the contributions they will make go well beyond financial capital. Their track record of investing in truly disruptive start-ups is outstanding, and partnering with them not only strengthens our foundation but will benefit the many distributors and direct SMB and enterprise customers we have in place today and will allow us to attract more distributors worldwide.”

“As early supporters of Osman and his outstanding team, we look forward to working closelywith Revo Capital to scale up the business dramatically and bring the benefits of the DefensX platform to hundreds more distributors, MSPs, and their end customers,” said David Walsh, Chairman of DefensX and an innovator, entrepreneur, private investor, and former private equity investor for over ten years at JPMorgan Chase One Equity Partners. “In a cloud-first world, and in a completely transformed channel distribution ecosystem, DefensX has proven they are a true disrupter during the first phase of developing a cloud-native cyber security defense that will only grow in value as more applications and communications migrate to the cloud.”

DefensX has several other global and regional distribution agreements with distributors, including Pax8, a US-based B2B platform used by over 27,000 Managed Service Providers serving hundreds of thousands of SMBs and SMEs.

This article was originally published on Industrial Innovation