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Cybersecurity will continue to be the top spending priority for CIOs next year, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

What’s going on: The majority (66%) of CIOs polled in a newly released survey from technology research and consulting firm Gartner Inc. said “they planned to increase investment in cybersecurity,” making cybersecurity “the top investment priority for CIOs.”

• The findings align with those from a recent survey by the Manufacturing Leadership Council, the NAM’s digital transformation arm, which reported that 62% of manufacturers now have formal cybersecurity plans in place. That’s up nearly twofold from 2018.
• Information security and risk-management spending by end-users will increase 11.3% next year from current levels, Gartner forecasts.
• The projected uptick comes amid “an escalation in cyberattacks,” including the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.

Manufacturers in action: To take one example, Kellogg Co.’s “strategy has been to bolster security at the perimeter of the network and work inward from there. The company also is working to adopt a so-called Zero Trust framework for cybersecurity, in which users and applications must continually reauthenticate themselves.”

Why it matters: Companies across industries are moving away from a compliance-only cybersecurity approach and toward a more risk- and outcomes-based one, Michael Levin, senior vice president for global cyber risk and defense at UnitedHealth Group, told the Journal.

Our view: “Cybersecurity is a top priority for the NAM,” said NAM Chief Operating Officer Todd Boppell.

• “As companies face an increase in cyberthreats and risk, and our nation remains in a ‘shields-up’ posture, it is important that manufacturers engage at every level from basic cyber hygiene to policy to promote cyber safety.”

In related news … dozens of senior cybersecurity and technology professionals from leading manufacturers gathered in Cleveland on Monday for the NAM’s Leading Edge Cyber Forum. Be on the lookout for the upcoming recap webinar, which will feature highlights and insights, as well as access to full session recordings.

Need cyber help? NAM Cyber Cover was specifically designed to give manufacturers and their supply chains enhanced risk mitigation and protection. Find out more here.