Bridging the Gap: Cybersecurity Automation for Legacy Manufacturing Systems

Abstract

Legacy manufacturing systems play a big role in industrial production, but they usually don’t have strong cyber- security measures in place, which makes them easy targets for modern cyber threats. Because these systems are often outdated, they present serious security risks, as they weren’t built to defend against today’s cyber-attacks. This study aims to fill the cybersecurity gap in legacy manufacturing environments by creating automated tools that boost the security of these systems without needing a lot of hands-on work. The frame- work includes automated patch management and vulnerability scanning tools, making sure that important security updates are consistently applied to legacy systems. This helps reduce the risk of hackers exploiting any unpatched vulnerabilities. What’s more, the research also uses network segmentation and anomaly detection technologies. These strategies help keep critical legacy systems separate from the wider network and watch for any unusual activity that could signal a cyber-attack. By combining, these approaches it helps to stop legacy systems from being compromised and used as gateways for cybercriminals. Not only does this strengthen the overall security setup, but it also minimizes operational hiccups, making sure both system uptime and security stay strong. By automating these processes, this research offers a scalable, effective, and sustainable way to protect legacy manufacturing systems from developing cyber threats.