Cybercrime continues to pose a significant threat to businesses worldwide, with costs projected to reach $10.5 trillion in 2025. This staggering figure highlights the increasing sophistication and frequency of cyberattacks.
As manufacturers embrace digitalization, automation, and AI, they’ve also become prime targets for cybercriminals. Attacks like data breaches, IP theft, and ransomware can cripple production, causing massive financial and reputational damage. The interconnected nature of modern manufacturing amplifies the risks. Traditional industrial control systems (ICS) often lack robust cybersecurity, making them vulnerable. A single breach can disrupt entire supply chains.
While AI introduces new threats, it also presents opportunities for stronger cybersecurity. The goal is not just to keep criminals out but to minimize damage if they get in. Today, we’re taking a fresh look at the latest cybercrime statistics, the latest scams to be aware of in 2025, and what you can do to protect your business.
Cybercrime Statistics: The Latest from the FBI
The latest report from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) paints a concerning picture of the overall cybercrime landscape, even with a caveat.
• Record Complaints: The IC3 received 880,418 complaints in 2023, marking a nearly 10% increase from the previous year. While cybercrime reporting remains inconsistent due to underreporting, the rising number of complaints underscores the growing threat.
• Escalating Losses: Financial damage from cybercrime continues to surge, with potential losses exceeding $12.5 billion in 2023—a 22% jump compared to 2022. This highlights the increasing sophistication and financial impact of cyberattacks.
Most reported losses stem from fraud and scams, with criminals exploiting various payment methods, including wire transfers, cash and gold shipments, prepaid cards, and cryptocurrency ATMs.
The Latest Cyberscams Impacting Businesses (2025 Edition)
The FBI’s Internet Crime Reporting Center regularly releases public service reminders containing the latest internet crimes scourging the world. We’ve picked out some of the more pertinent to industrial businesses. Let’s take a look.
Fraudsters Test the Waters with Snail Mail
In 2025, the FBI issued a public service announcement warning industrial businesses about a new scam involving letters from unidentified criminal actors claiming to be from the ransomware group "BianLian." These letters, marked "Time Sensitive Read Immediately," allege that the group has infiltrated the organization's network and stolen sensitive data. The scammers demand a ransom payment between $250,000 and $500,000 via a QR code linked to a Bitcoin wallet, threatening to publish the stolen data if the ransom is not paid within ten days.
This scam poses a real threat to industrial businesses, which often handle large volumes of sensitive data and rely heavily on network security.
FBI and USPIS Warns of Rising Mail Theft-Related Check Fraud
Continuing on the theme of snail mail, (IC3) and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) have issued a public service announcement warning about the surge in mail theft-related check fraud. Fraudsters are increasingly targeting mailed checks, using techniques such as check washing and digital manipulation to alter or counterfeit checks. Suspicious Activity Reports related to check fraud have nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023.
This rise in check fraud poses significant risks to industrial businesses, including disruption to business activities, reputational harm, and financial losses due to overdue or missed payments. The FBI and USPIS advise businesses to enhance mail security measures, monitor accounts for suspicious activity, and report any incidents to the IC3.
The $55 Billion Business Email Compromise Scam
In late 2024, The FBI also released a detailed public service announcement about the staggering impact of Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams, which have resulted in over $55 billion in losses globally between October 2013 and December 2023. BEC scams involve cybercriminals impersonating company executives or trusted vendors to deceive employees into transferring funds or revealing sensitive information. These scams have targeted businesses of all sizes, from small local firms to large corporations, and have evolved to include sophisticated techniques such as social engineering and computer intrusion.
Key statistics from the IC3 report include:
• 305,033 domestic and international incidents reported.
• $55,499,915,582 in exposed dollar losses globally.
• 158,436 U.S. victims with losses totaling $20 billion.
• 6,546 non-U.S. victims with losses amounting to $1.6 billion.
BEC scams have been reported in all 50 states and 186 countries, with fraudulent transfers often routed through international banks in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, China, Mexico, and the UAE.
To make things worse, AI is increasingly being utilized by scammers to mask the telltale spelling and grammar mistakes. Scammers can now use generative AI to make their fraudulent messages appear more legitimate. This advancement allows cybercriminals to craft convincing emails that can deceive even the most vigilant recipients, posing a significant threat to businesses.
Fake Orders, Real Losses: The Purchase Order Scam
This is a big one for industrial companies. Manufacturers beware—purchase order scams are on the rise, with fraudsters mimicking legitimate companies to place fake purchase orders. In 2023 alone, the FTC logged over 330,000 business impersonation cases.
Scammers register nearly identical corporate domains—think info@compnayname.com instead of info@company-name.com—creating deceptive email addresses and fake websites. Their fraudulent orders often come with professional branding and NET 30 payment terms, making them appear legitimate. Once the goods are shipped to a storage facility, they vanish, leaving suppliers with unpaid invoices and financial losses.
A key red flag? These scam domains often use anonymous proxies to mask overseas origins, and their websites may display generic placeholders instead of a real company page. Always verify unexpected large orders and double-check domain authenticity before shipping.
This particular scam has been so damaging to manufacturers, we dedicated an entire blog post to it. Click here for more.
Other Types of Cybercrime to Know
Criminals can get into systems through social engineering. This is important to take note of because a company can have the best defenses money can buy, but one click by one team member can compromise the entire system. Here are some different ways social engineering can appear:
• Phishing emails: Phishing attempts occur when an attacker sends what seems to be a legitimate email with a link or document that leads to a virus.
• Vishing:Vishing is another form of phishing that happens over the phone or through text messages.
• Face-to-face interactions: Sometimes an attacker can pose as a customer or a service technician to gain more information about the environment or get access to restricted areas.
Although social engineering presents serious threats, it is one of the quickest areas to fix through employee training. However, this is not the only attack surface that manufacturing cybersecurity initiatives must address. Other cybercrime tactics to watch out for include:
• Ransomware: As mentioned earlier, this is the biggest threat for manufacturers, particularly due to a common systemic weakness. Ransomware renders files useless unless the company pays the criminal.
• Logic bombs:These are attacks based on specific events or triggers. For example, they can shut down the entire system on a certain date or destroy files after a specific trigger. Usually, logic bombs are insider threats.
• Denial-of-service:This attack triggers specific software crucial for operations - anything from automation to logistics apps to inventory management. Criminals often carry these out to disrupt operations to exploit other weaknesses.
• Data diddling:This involves altering information in databases to counterfeit documents and obfuscate important information such as manifests, equipment purchases and employee payments.
• Salami slicing:This includes stealing money or resources a little bit at a time to exploit accounting weaknesses. For example, criminals may use fraudulent currency calculators in businesses that engage with international trade to make purchases at a larger price and misappropriate the difference.
Sufficient cybersecurity for manufacturers requires an overall strong security posture to stay safe from both social engineering and other technology-related attacks. Most criminals employ both to stay ahead of security teams.
AI: Friend or Foe in Manufacturing Cybersecurity?
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted manufacturing on every front, and cybersecurity is no exception. While AI offers powerful tools to combat cybercrime, it also introduces new challenges that manufacturers need to consider.
AI as a Guardian
IBM reports 90% of organizations are using AI for cybersecurity in one form or another. Why? Because AI excels at processing massive amounts of data in real-time, which translates to several key advantages for businesses—including manufacturers:
• Enhanced Threat Detection: AI algorithms can continuously analyze network traffic, system logs, and user behavior to identify anomalies that might signify a cyberattack. This allows for earlier detection and intervention, potentially mitigating significant damage.
• Automated Incident Response: AI-powered systems can automate specific tasks within the incident response process. For instance, AI can isolate compromised systems, block malicious IP addresses, or quarantine infected files. This speeds up response times and minimizes human error during critical moments.
• Predictive Maintenance: AI can also analyze historical data and identify patterns that suggest potential vulnerabilities in systems before they are exploited. This proactive approach allows manufacturers to prioritize security efforts, patch weaknesses, and stay ahead of potential threats.
The Other Side of the Coin
While AI offers significant benefits, it also introduces new challenges for manufacturers:
• Expanded Attack Surface: As AI becomes more integrated into manufacturing processes, it creates a larger target for cybercriminals. Hackers could potentially exploit vulnerabilities in AI models themselves, or manipulate the data used by them to disrupt operations or steal sensitive information.
• Transparency Issues: Many AI systems are complex and their decision-making processes can be opaque. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to identify and address potential biases within the AI model that could lead to security gaps. For instance, an AI trained on biased data might overlook certain types of attacks.
• Data Security Concerns: AI systems rely heavily on data to function effectively. A data breach exposing this data could be disastrous, compromising intellectual property, operational secrets, and even production capabilities.
Manufacturing Cybersecurity Solutions to Protect Business
The ever-expanding network of interconnected machines, devices, and computers in a manufacturing environment creates a complex security landscape. While separating production machines from business systems is a critical first step, a truly secure environment requires a multi-layered approach. Here's a deeper dive into some key solutions:
• Human Firewall: Security Awareness Training: Employees are often the first line of defense. Investing in comprehensive training goes beyond basic "don't click on suspicious links." It should include recognizing social engineering tactics, understanding phishing attempts, and reporting suspicious activity. Regularly updated training ensures employees stay informed about the latest threats.
• Layered Network Defense: This approach utilizes multiple security solutions to create a layered defense. Email filtering equipped with advanced threat detection can stop malicious emails before they reach employee inboxes. Firewalls act as a barrier between trusted and untrusted networks, while intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) actively monitor for suspicious activity and block potential attacks.
• Data Encryption: Sensitive data, both in transit and at rest, needs an extra layer of protection. Data encryption scrambles information using a key, making it unreadable to unauthorized users.
• Access Control and Identity Management: Limiting access to systems and data based on the principle of least privilege is critical. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second verification factor beyond a simple password when accessing critical systems. Implementing strong password policies and regularly enforcing password changes further strengthens access control.
• Vulnerability Management: No system is perfect. Regularly patching vulnerabilities in operating systems, software, and firmware is crucial to stay ahead of known threats. Security vulnerability scanners can automate the process of identifying and prioritizing these vulnerabilities for patching.
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM): This powerful tool collects data from various security systems, providing a holistic view of security events across the network. SIEM allows for centralized log analysis, real-time threat detection, and faster incident response.
Beyond the Basics:
• Professional Security Assessments: Regularly engaging a reputable security firm to conduct penetration testing can uncover weaknesses in your defenses before attackers do. This allows for proactive mitigation of security risks.
• Incident Response Planning: Having a pre-defined incident response plan in place helps you react quickly and efficiently in the event of a security breach. The plan should outline steps for containment, eradication, recovery, and investigation, minimizing downtime and damage.
• Supply Chain Security: Manufacturing ecosystems often involve multiple vendors and suppliers. Extending your security measures to include these partners is essential to reduce the overall attack surface.
Staying Security Conscious
At the end of the day, facilities must consider and manage multiple facets of manufacturing cybersecurity.
After all, it is not a question of if the company will be attacked. It is a question of when they will be attacked and how prepared they are when it happens.
An intrusion into a network does not mean the attack was successful; if the criminal is not able to disrupt the systems or steal information, the attack was failed.
A strong security posture takes time and experience to develop. However, it is necessary (and well worth it) for critical environments with the often outdated systems typically found in manufacturing.
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Article Sources:
https://www.industryweek.com/technology-and-iiot/article/21158482/cyber-crime-is-up-way-up
https://www.zdnet.com/article/manufacturing-is-becoming-a-major-target-for-ransomware-attacks/
https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/cybersecurity-breaches-to-result-in-over-146-bn
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/34-Cybersecurity-Statistics-to-Lose-Sleep-Over-in-2020
https://www.esentire.com/resources/library/2022-official-cybercrime-report
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in April 2021. It it updated annually to reflect new statistics and new scam announcements from the FBI.
