AI
Unlock new levels of productivity with transformational solutions driven by the latest advancements in AI.
IT Solutions
Depend on us to get your organisation to the next level.
Sectors
BCN have a heritage of delivering outcomes through our cloud-first services and currently support over 1200 customers across specialist sectors.
About Us
Your tech partner
BCN provides cyber security for manufacturing organisations that protects production systems, employees and sensitive data while helping manufacturers maintain reliable operations.
OPERATIONAL RISK
UK manufacturers depend on connected machinery, business applications, remote access and supplier networks to keep production moving. Each connection can create an entry point for cyber attackers to exploit if identities, devices and systems are poorly managed. Legacy technology may be difficult to patch, while third parties often need access to shared platforms or production data. A successful attack can stop lines, delay orders, affect quality and expose valuable intellectual property. BCN combines manufacturing knowledge with cyber security expertise to help leaders reduce these risks without placing unnecessary barriers around day-to-day work. This gives COOs, CIOs, Operations Directors and IT managers a practical route forward.
RISKS
Manufacturing risk extends beyond office systems. A single incident can affect output, safety, customer commitments and revenue. Leaders need to understand where exposure sits across IT, operational technology, people and partners, then focus investment on the areas that could cause the greatest disruption.
Production lines depend on systems, networks and equipment being available when needed. An attack or poorly managed security change can interrupt schedules, delay customer orders and create costly recovery work. Protection must support uptime and fit planned maintenance windows.
Ransomware can encrypt business data, disable user accounts and interrupt the systems that support production. Manufacturers need layered controls that reduce the chance of infection, limit how far an attack can spread and support a controlled recovery.
Operational technology (OT) in manufacturing often includes specialist equipment with long lifecycles, limited patching options and dependencies on older software. Security work must account for production safety, vendor requirements and availability, using segmentation and controlled access where direct changes are not practical.
Product designs, formulas, process knowledge and commercial data can be highly valuable to attackers and competitors. Manufacturers need clear data ownership, appropriate access controls and monitoring that identifies unusual copying, sharing or movement of sensitive information.
Suppliers, maintenance partners and logistics providers may connect to shared systems or receive access to operational data. Weak controls elsewhere in the supply chain can expose the manufacturer, so third-party access should be limited, reviewed and removed when no longer needed.
Manufacturers may need to meet customer security requirements, contractual obligations, data protection law and sector standards. Clear policies, recorded controls and usable evidence help leaders demonstrate how risks are managed without turning compliance into a separate paper exercise.
SECURITY
Effective protection gives manufacturers, IT leaders and the executive board a shared view of risk and a practical route for reducing it. Controls should protect critical operations while respecting production schedules, equipment limitations and the way employees, engineers and suppliers need to work.
Teams need an accurate view of users, devices, servers, cloud services, connected equipment and external access. This makes unknown assets easier to find, shows where critical dependencies sit and gives leaders a clearer basis for security decisions.
Access should reflect each person’s role and be removed when it is no longer required. Multi-factor authentication, privileged account controls and regular reviews help limit misuse while giving authorised employees and suppliers reliable access to the systems they need.
Consistent security settings reduce avoidable weaknesses across endpoints, servers, cloud platforms and network devices. Configuration standards should account for manufacturing applications and equipment dependencies, with exceptions documented and protected through suitable compensating controls.
Patching should be prioritised according to risk, exposure and operational impact. Where legacy equipment cannot be updated immediately, segmentation, restricted access and monitoring can reduce exposure until the system can be upgraded, isolated or replaced.
Continuous monitoring helps security teams identify suspicious behaviour across identities, endpoints, networks and cloud services. Alerts need suitable context and investigation, so genuine threats are acted on quickly without overwhelming IT teams with unnecessary noise.
Manufacturers need agreed roles, escalation routes and recovery priorities before an incident occurs. Tested backups, response plans and production-aware recovery procedures help teams contain threats, restore critical services in the right order and communicate clearly during disruption.
SERVICES
BCN builds protection around the realities of manufacturing, combining foundational controls with ongoing oversight across corporate systems, production-supporting technology, remote users and multiple sites.
Cyber Essentials gives manufacturers a recognised starting point for securing accounts, software, devices and internet-facing services. BCN guides your team through readiness checks, remediation and certification, helping you meet customer or tender expectations while establishing controls that can be developed as your production environment and supplier network change.
Our vulnerability management service helps you find and track weaknesses across supported devices, servers, applications and infrastructure. We interpret findings in the context of production risk, legacy dependencies and system exposure, allowing your team to schedule remediation around maintenance windows and address the issues most likely to affect operations first.
BCN monitors security signals across identities, endpoints and cloud services to identify activity that could indicate an attack. Our specialists investigate alerts, separate genuine incidents from background noise and coordinate containment where required. This supports quicker decisions when ransomware, compromised accounts or unusual access threatens production or business systems.
Firewall security helps control how data and users move between sites, corporate networks, the internet and production-supporting environments. BCN reviews and manages firewall rules, closes unnecessary routes and supports network separation. Access for engineers, suppliers and remote teams can then be provided through controlled connections rather than broad network permissions.
Security training should reflect the different roles found across a manufacturing business. BCN helps office employees, production teams, engineers and managers recognise phishing, fraudulent supplier requests, unsafe data sharing and suspicious login activity. Regular learning gives people the confidence to report concerns before a mistake develops into wider operational disruption.
BCN protects supported laptops, desktops and servers used across factories, offices and remote locations. Managed endpoint controls help block malware, identify unusual behaviour and isolate affected devices before an infection spreads. Policies can be adapted for different user groups and workloads, maintaining protection without applying identical settings to every device.
TRUSTED BY
COLLABORATION
BCN follows a phased and collaborative approach that helps manufacturers strengthen cyber security without losing sight of production priorities. Every manufacturing environment is different, so the process begins by understanding how people, devices, applications, infrastructure and operational technology work together across the organisation.
This includes the systems that support production, communication with suppliers, remote access, cloud platforms and the movement of sensitive commercial or operational data. BCN then helps internal teams identify the risks that could have the greatest impact on safety, productivity, quality, compliance and customer commitments. Rather than attempting to change everything at once, improvements are planned in manageable stages around available resources, budgets and production schedules. This gives technology and operational leaders a clear route from initial assessment through to implementation and ongoing improvement, helping the organisation build greater resilience while keeping critical manufacturing processes running effectively.
We review the current environment, including users, devices, infrastructure, cloud services, external access and links between IT and operational technology. The assessment identifies gaps, dependencies and risks that could affect production or sensitive information.
Findings are ranked against operational impact, likelihood and available resources. BCN works with technology, production, quality, supply chain and change leaders to agree a phased plan that addresses the most pressing exposure while respecting budgets and production schedules.
BCN configures and deploys agreed controls with manufacturing and IT stakeholders, planning changes around production needs. Eligible organisations may be able to access Microsoft support for security proof-of-concept and deployment acceleration activity, subject to current programme criteria.
As a Microsoft partner, BCN brings Microsoft security expertise alongside its wider capability across cloud, infrastructure and managed services. Regular reviews use service data, vulnerability findings and threat activity to refine controls as systems, suppliers and business priorities change.
EXPERTISE
BCN combines sector knowledge, managed services and Microsoft security experience to help manufacturers address cyber risk across complex and interconnected technology environments. Our approach considers the practical realities of manufacturing, including the need to maintain uptime, protect production data, manage legacy systems and control access across multiple sites, suppliers and user groups.
Security is treated as part of the wider technology environment rather than as a separate activity, allowing risks to be addressed alongside everyday IT management, cloud services, infrastructure and operational requirements. BCN supports organisations from initial assessment and security planning through to implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement. This breadth of expertise is supported by practical guidance on supply chain security and experience working with industrial organisations.
Our work across manufacturing covers the technology behind production, collaboration, data and business operations. This sector knowledge helps BCN plan security changes around real manufacturing priorities, including uptime, legacy equipment, multiple sites and supplier relationships.
Security works best when it is connected to day-to-day technology management. BCN provides IT support for manufacturing across users, infrastructure, cloud and networks, helping teams manage incidents, changes and security controls through a joined-up service.
Our guidance on cyber security in supply chains explains how supplier relationships can introduce risk and why shared responsibility matters. It gives manufacturing leaders a practical starting point for reviewing third-party access, expectations and oversight.
BCN supports industrial services business Garic Ltd across five UK sites. The partnership grew to include a network refresh, security consultation and a fully managed security service covering monitoring, detection and prevention.
CASE STUDIES
01 02 03 / 03
Tradelink is a timber trading group that supplies a selected range of timber products in sawn lumber, decking, flooring, molding and components, laminated products, plywood, rail ties, and logs, procured from timber-producing regions around the world, with environmental due diligence and logistical expertise. BCN worked with Tradelink, migrating their on-premise exchange to Microsoft 365
As Wilfrid Smith’s managed IT services provider, BCN offered the senior management a discovery session to look at potential improvements to their legacy environment. This discovery day enabled BCN to recommend the migration to Office 365 and advise of the benefits, capabilities and cost savings it could bring to their organisation.
Garic needed an IT partner who could provide strategic guidance and full-service solutions as their requirements evolved and their business grew. Initially engaging in remote support and migrating to M365 for their 270 users, BCN later took responsibility for a broader IT remit, including professional services projects, cyber security implementation and a network refresh.
Speak to BCN about cyber security for manufacturing that protects critical operations, reduces avoidable exposure and supports confident, well-planned improvement.
