Technology / Cyber Security in Production

Cybersecurity Also Protects Production Lines

Production today is more interconnected than ever before, and this increases the demands on its digital protection. Cybersecurity therefore does not only concern data, it also safeguards the production technologies themselves and their operation.

Robots, production lines, control systems and logistics processes are now all interconnected, communicating with each other over the company network. This makes it possible to manage production efficiently, monitor its status, or repair some equipment remotely. At the same time, however, this creates a new risk: the digital technologies through which all this information flows could become a route to disrupting production. This is exactly what cyber security focuses on, putting long-term protection of production technologies in place so that they remain resilient against digital threats too.

"Production today is no longer just about machines. Every connected device is part of a digital ecosystem that we must protect just as carefully as the production itself. Cyber security is therefore one of the conditions for reliable operation," says Tomáš Posekaný, who is responsible for implementing the cyber security process within the PPD/2 – Data Domain Management – Production Process department in the Production and Logistics area.

Quick response is key

With production technologies, it's not just about protecting information. A cyber attack can affect the operation itself, cause equipment failure, stop part of a line, or extend the time needed to restart production (see Škoda Mobil 8/2026). For example, the Group deals with around ten cyber incidents at its suppliers every month. "The question isn't whether such an attack will happen at some point, but how quickly we can respond, restore operations, and minimise the impact on production," adds T. Posekaný.

How to protect production

All measures are based on several layers. One of them is having an overview of which devices and software are used and how they communicate with each other. The implementation team continuously searches for security weaknesses and monitors network traffic. It is also important to separate the individual parts of the network so that a potential problem does not affect other technologies. The changes also include strengthening access to production systems and setting up procedures for incident response.

The aim is not just to prevent attacks, but to be prepared for situations where a security issue actually occurs, and to restore operations as quickly as possible. All this requires close cooperation between people who understand production technologies and specialists in cybersecurity and IT. Production security is based on cooperation, understanding and respect for the fact that IT and individual departments may look at the same problem from different angles. "It is precisely the combination of these perspectives that determines how resilient we are in practice," says T. Posekaný.