The digitization of processes and products continues unabated as part of the fourth industrial revolution. Players from sectors as diverse as the automotive, consumer goods, chemicals and aerospace industry are increasingly reliant on digital processes to store and to share important data internally and with external suppliers. While this makes for faster and more efficient production processes, it does increase the risk of companies falling prey to online attacks. Data protection is therefore becoming an ever more complex, time consuming and costly business for companies. These are some of the aspects examined in the study by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants: "Cyber-security. Managing the threat scenarios in manufacturing companies".

"Dealing with hacking attacks is a huge problem, with different parts of the value chain often coming under attack simultaneously," explains Roland Berger Partner Manfred Hader. "The trouble is, traditional IT security departments mostly have their eyes fixed on business IT – the communication systems or business applications. What companies should be doing instead is addressing the issue of cyber-security from an integrated perspective."