No Margin for Failure

In manufacturing, data security is often discussed in abstract terms--firewalls, passwords, backups--but in practice, it is fundamentally practical, and operational.

An MES or operations data system sits at the center of production execution. It knows what is being built, how it is being built, how machines are behaving in real time, and more. If that system is compromised, unavailable, or manipulated, the impact is immediate, operational, and financial.

For that reason, data security in MES environments must be treated as a primary design requirement, not an add-on. A secure system must do two things at once:

1. Prevent unauthorized access and ensure the operation can continue
2. Recover immediately or switch over to a redundant system when something fails 

Security without recovery creates downtime risk. Recovery without security invites disaster.

MES Systems Should Not Be Publicly Exposed

In manufacturing, one foundational principle should be straightforward and uncompromising: MES and operations data should never be publicly exposed by URL. Public exposure collapses multiple layers of defense into a single point of failure. Anyone who can reach the system can probe it, attack it, or attempt to exploit unknown weaknesses.

The only reasonable exception is when a system is hosted in a company's own, tightly controlled cloud account, managed by internal IT, and accessible exclusively through a secure VPN from within the corporate network. Even then, access should be restricted, monitored and logged.

When an MES is deployed inside the corporate network, behind the firewall and existing security controls, an attacker must defeat multiple independent barriers. First they must penetrate the corporate environment itself--an event that should trigger alerts across intrusion detection, endpoint monitoring, and network security tools. Only then do they face the additional challenges of discovering and compromising the internal operations system. This layered approach dramatically reduces risk and increases the likelihood of early detection.

The Risk of Vendor-Controlled and Multi-Tenant Hosting

Many MES and operations platforms are hosted entirely under vendor control, often in shared or multi-tenant environments. From a security standpoint, this introduces structural risk. When multiple customers coexist on the same infrastructure, a breach in one environment can expose others, even if unintentionally.

Best practice is to keep operational systems under the customer's direct control. That means installation within the customer's IT environment, governed by their firewall rules, network segmentation, and cybersecurity policies. Production systems should not depend on external parties for basic security enforcement, nor should they be reachable from the public internet.

Cloud Economics and Operational Reality

Cloud infrastructure is frequently marketed as both cheaper and more secure, but manufacturing operations expose the limits of that assumption. MES platforms generate continuous streams of transactional data, machine telemetry, and event logs. At scale this volume of I/O and compute activity can drive significant  and unpredictable costs.

Beyond expense, cloud architectures often introduce vendor lock-in. Proprietary services, data models, and deployment patterns can make future migrations difficult or impossible. 

Security complexity also increases as more endpoints, APIs, and integrations are exposed.

For many manufacturers, controlled, on-premises or privately managed cloud deployments offer a better balance of security, cost predictability, and long-term flexibility.

Security Begins with Architecture

Strong MES security starts with architectural decisions. Systems should be deployed behind the firewall, with minimal access points and no unnecessary external dependencies. Web-based deployments on hardened Linux servers reduce reliance on Windows services and eliminate entire classes of attack vectors.

User account management is another critical boundary. MES user accounts should be owned and managed by operations management, not inherited from Active Directory or other third-party identity providers.

If a corporate Windows account is compromised, the MES should not automatically be exposed because it mirrors the same credentials. Operations systems require their own security domain, separate from office IT.

Credential handling must also meet modern standards. User and machine accounts should always be encrypted, with strong password enforcement that includes sufficient length, complexity, and lockout policies. Credentials must be stored using one-way cipher implementations. Any system that stores passwords in plain text--or in reversible form--represents a serious and unacceptable risk.

Recovery Is Part of Security

True security planning assumes failure will happen. Hardware fails. Software crashes. Systems get compromised. What matters is how quickly operations can recover without data loss.

For this reason, real-time data replication should be a baseline requirement for MES platforms. 

Production data should be mirrored continuously to a secondary server with separate administrative credentials. If a primary system fails or is suspected of compromise, it should be possible to isolate it immediately and continue operations with an up-to-the-millisecond system state.

This replication can be extended to an offsite location to support full disaster recovery, but the key principle remains the same: recovery should be immediate, predictable, and simple. Overly complex recovery architectures often fail when they're needed most.

Application-Level Defenses Matter

Even with strong network security, MES applications must defend themselves. All user and machine input must be sanitized to prevent SQL injection and remote code execution attacks. URLs should be rewritten to obscure internal directory structures and system layout, making reconnaissance more difficult for attackers.

Access within the system should follow the principle of least privilege. Standard users should only be able to see and modify what is required for their role. Role-based access control allows permissions to be constrained by product line, operation, or facility, reducing both accidental misuse and insider risk.

Equally important is auditability. Secure MES platforms maintain detailed audit logs of logins, logouts, and user activity. Transaction logs capture what work was performed and when. Change logs record every update to processes, products, and bills of material (BOMs). These records are essential not only for compliance, but for understanding incidents, troubleshooting issues, and conducting forensic analysis when something goes wrong. 

Secure Integration without Exposing Credentials

Modern MES environments rarely operate in isolation. They integrate with machines, sensors, reporting tools, and external applications. These integrations must be designed so that convenience does not undermine security.

APIs should use unique access keys assigned per user, machine, or application. Passwords should never be transmitted as part of an API call. Usernames may be included for reporting or traceability, but credentials must remain protected. All inbound data should be validated and sanitized before  being accepted, and detailed trace logs should capture API activity for monitoring and debugging.

Secure integration with scripting and programming languages enables automation and advanced analytics without weakening system boundaries, provided these controls are enforced consistently.

If this sounds too complicated, let us disabuse you of that notion. It's straightforward and fast to implement using today's modern software technologies.

Designing for Longevity and Scale

Security is not static. MES platforms must remain secure as operations grow, data volumes increase, and facilities are added. Scalable architectures built on commodity Linux servers allow capacity to expand without introducing unnecessary complexity or cost.

Automated data archiving and data warehouse integration help manage long-term data growth while preserving access to historical records.

Self-monitoring systems further reduce risk by detecting issues early and minimizing reliance on constant manual oversight.

The Final Analysis

Strong MES and operations data security is not achieved through a single feature or technology choice. It's the result of disciplined architectural decisions, layered defenses, and a clear understanding of how manufacturing systems actually operate.

If this sounds a bit like a military exercise, that's because it is. And it needs to be, considering the growing, evolving and escalating risks out there.

Keeping systems private, minimizing access paths, enforcing strong credential and role controls, maintaining real-time recovery, and designing for simplicity are not optional enhancements. They are foundational requirements.

When these principles are applied consistently, MES platforms become significantly harder to attack--and far more resilient when something inevitably goes wrong. And that can only be good for your operation.

Visit Intraratio.com for more information on how our MES can help keep your operation up and running through whatever the world can throw at it.