Future of Manufacturing

Women in Hydraulink: Lisa Wise relishes problem-solving job A woman grasping her hydraulics career with both hands (literally), is enjoying the problem-solving nature of a job where no two days are the same. Lisa Wise is a Hydraulic Sales and Service Technician (HSST) based on the Gold Coast, part of the national Hydraulink hydraulic hose and service network, which includes 13 company-owned sites in Australia, 135 network partners, and 150 service vehicles offering 24/7 onsite and mobile services. Hydraulink Gold Coast services industries including earthmoving, civil contracting, trucking and transport, and a broad range of industrial companies with machinery powered by hydraulics. “Customers value that we’re friendly, fast, and solutions-focused, so we can get their machinery back up and running again,” says Lisa. “For some customers, machinery downtime means they aren’t earning money for that period, so they really appreciate that we do everything we can to solve their hydraulics problems quickly, and with uniform standards of quality and safety,” she adds. Lisa’s job includes working on machinery and trucks, as well as making hydraulic hoses to customer specifications, and resealing hydraulic cylinders. “I love this role because no two days are the same. We have to think quickly, get our hands dirty, and come up with new solutions. You never get bored!” she says. Supportive atmosphere In the lead up to International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, Lisa reflects on working in the hydraulics industry, which is one that typically attracts more men than women to join the profession each year. “For any woman that’s mechanically minded, likes working with machinery, and enjoys problem solving, I’d encourage them to give it a go,” she says. This year’s IWD theme is “inspire inclusion,” so Lisa hopes to inspire others and continue to foster the supportive environment she has experienced […]

  Hydraulink Purchasing and Logistics Officer, Avnil Singh A driven young man with initiative and integrity is expanding his skills and furthering his career with the support of the national hydraulic hose, fittings, and service organisation, Hydraulink. Avnil Singh started with Hydraulink as a casual warehouse operative, then moved into quality control, and he is now a purchasing and logistics officer operating across Australia out of the company headquarters in Smithfield NSW. “Hydraulink feels like one giant family. From the top floor to the shop floor, everyone is willing to help, and it sets up a hugely supportive atmosphere, where you are encouraged to be your best,” says Avnil, who has just completed a diploma in logistics. “Logistics is my biggest area of interest, but at the moment I’m enjoying the challenges of learning about all aspects of the Hydraulink business across all industries, from mining to road and civil works, to earthmoving, and everything else,” he adds. “One aspect I like about working for Hydraulink is that the products have a real impact in the world. They are helping machinery that builds roads, extracts minerals, shifts earth, and other physical tasks, and that feels rewarding.” Hydraulink’s extensive national network includes 13 company-owned sites in Australia, 135 network partners, and 150 service vehicles offering 24/7 onsite and mobile services to the same uniformly high levels of outstanding service, safety, standards compliance, traceability, and diverse machinery and equipment knowledge. Learning new skills Avnil points out that the shift from picking and packing to purchasing and logistics meant he had to switch from the physical moving of parts to the electronic moving of parts. “I find it refreshing to learn new skills, and this was a great opportunity for me. I believe one of the most important parts of my current role […]

Article by Leon Poggioli, ANZ Regional Director at Claroty In the last decade, digital transformation has completely changed the way many of Australia’s industries operate, with the manufacturing sector being no exception. Advancements such as automation and the integration of IoT devices and other cyber-physical systems throughout production, packaging, and other essential operations have revolutionised the manufacturing process. While these advancements have brought exceptional benefits, they have also led to a significant increase in cybersecurity risks. Whether it’s ransomware infections halting assembly lines, rogue insiders remotely altering settings to compromise production or other types of attacks that exploit security weaknesses in cyber-physical systems (CPS), the rate of cyber-attacks has continued to increase as the industry becomes more and more connected. The ultimate goal of a manufacturing cybersecurity strategy is to protect the CPS on which production availability, integrity, and safety rely. To achieve this, manufacturers must look beyond traditional IT security tools, which are often inadequate at protecting complex environments with a mix of legacy operational technology and modern IT. The key challenges in manufacturing cybersecurity The prevalence of legacy systems Much of the technology that manufacturers rely on today is decades old. It was never designed to be connected to the internet, nor withstand any form of cyber-attack – as this simply wasn’t a risk when it was introduced. As a result, patching security vulnerabilities in this technology is a complex and time-consuming task, which often requires operational downtime. And, because manufacturers’ profits have always been tied to uptime, many companies don’t bother patching at all. After all, downtime hinders productivity, and productivity underpins profitability. As a result, even some of the most successful manufacturers in the world are operating with unpatched legacy systems laden with vulnerabilities that threat actors have their eyes on. The use of proprietary protocols Legacy […]

By Yubico’s Chad Thunberg 2023 saw a whirlwind of challenges – both old and new – but we also realised many opportunities to become more secure and stay ahead of evolving information security threats. As expected, it was another challenging year for information security as organisations continued looking for ways to stay ahead of hackers. We saw an increasing amount and complexity of phishing attacks overall, driven by a major trend throughout the year making a significant impact: AI-driven phishing. Phishing remains the most prevalent attack method due to its relatively low cost and high success rate, and the implementation of AI now only furthers this problem. Across the board, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in attacks targeting businesses, governments and consumers using phishing to social engineer individuals to provide their credentials, identity information, and subvert legacy multi-factor authentication (MFA). A major reason for this is highlighted in Yubico’s recent survey which found 91 percent of people still rely solely on a username and password to secure their accounts. In order to be more secure moving forward, collectively we must do better overall and move away from the reliance on passwords and other weak forms of authentication, towards modern, phishing-resistant MFA. In 2023 we also saw many attacks spearheaded by the increased amount of information attackers have about specific vendors in the supply chain and employees within companies.  The information enables attackers to provide sophisticated pretext, understand relationships and even communication styles. Due in part to the success and impact that these types of attacks have had, we’ve seen governments in Australia, the U.S., Europe and around the world increase their focus on ways to increase the security of businesses, citizens and the government entities. The U.S. government specifically is showing signs of losing patience with the commercial sector’s inability to keep attackers […]