Manufacturing Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MFG-ISAC) Launched to Protect the U.S. Manufacturing Sector from Malicious Cyberactivity

The nonprofit community enables sharing of public and privately sourced intelligence on cyberthreats for purposes of warning, mitigation and recovery

Herndon, VA, USA – March 1, 2022- Global Resilience Federation (GRF), in partnership with The Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII), has launched the Manufacturing Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MFG-ISAC) to help defend U.S. manufacturers from malicious cyberactivity. The nonprofit group expands companies’ awareness of threats and allows members to crowd-source best practices for purposes of warning, mitigation, recovery and future resilience.

“Threats from malicious actors are increasing in severity and the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized how vital manufacturing is to the nation.” said GRF CEO and President Mark Orsi. “The creation of MFG-ISAC is one important step in safeguarding the sector from harm and preventing impact to companies, their financial viability, intellectual property, employees and customers.”

Through a collaboration portal for vetted security practitioners, member companies exchange threat data from phishing attacks, malware signatures, IoT vulnerabilities, risks to Operational Technology or other hazards. Members may share information anonymously or with attribution, depending on sensitivity and the desired level of feedback from peers. Additionally, MFG-ISAC staff pull relevant alerts from government, private security vendors and open sources to send to the community, and augment or enrich material from member submissions.

“MFG-ISAC provides a vital space for the industry to gain early warning of attacks or the best means to recover from and prevent future attacks,” said CyManII CEO Howard Grimes. “We’re pleased to be working with GRF to launch this group, especially given the threat environment we find ourselves in today. Awareness and training for cybersecurity has never been more critical.”

The MFG-ISAC community acts as a hub for discussion and advice, alerts, reports and other material, for mutual defense. An attack on one member provides early warning or cautionary education to the rest of the group that can leverage the expertise of peers, and swap experiences against similar threats.

“ISACs are a tried and tested method of reducing an organization’s risk profile and protecting against IP theft and supply chain attacks,” added Orsi. “Membership in an ISAC is recommended by cybersecurity frameworks, associations and regulators the world over. We’re thrilled to now offer this capability to companies in the manufacturing sector.”

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About MFG-ISAC

Manufacturing Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MFG-ISAC) is a nonprofit cybersecurity threat awareness and mitigation community for small, medium and enterprise-level manufacturers in the United States. The MFG-ISAC team uses open source and proprietary intelligence to warn member companies of incoming cyberthreats and provides suggested tools and methods for prevention, remediation or recovery. Within the community, member companies can also share their own indicators and observables, best practices or advice on dealing with the many challenges the sector faces from malicious cyber activity. With the support and guidance of CyManII, MFG-ISAC was launched by Global Resilience Federation, a creator and operator of ISACs in multiple sectors. Visit www.mfgisac.org for more information or follow @MFG_ISAC on Twitter or Manufacturing ISAC on LinkedIn. The MFG-ISAC sharing portal is provided by Cyware and has been customized with input from experienced ISAC analysts.

About GRF

Global Resilience Federation (GRF) is a nonprofit creator and operator of threat information sharing communities. It serves as a hub and integrator for support, analysis, and cross-sector intelligence exchange among information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs), organizations (ISAOs), and computer emergency readiness/response teams (CERTs). GRF’s mission is to help assure the resilience of critical and essential infrastructure against threats that could significantly impact the orderly functioning of the global economy and general safety of the public. Learn about GRF by visiting www.grf.org. You may also visit @GRFederation on Twitter or Global Resilience Federation on LinkedIn.

Media inquiries may be directed to Patrick McGlone at pmcglone@grf.org