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As more manufacturers embrace the cloud for flexibility, scalability, and smarter production lines, a critical question often gets overlooked: Who’s responsible for keeping cloud environments secure?
It’s tempting to assume that moving to the cloud means outsourcing security headaches to Amazon, Microsoft, or Google. But here’s the hard truth: cloud platforms operate on a shared responsibility model. And misunderstanding that model can leave your systems — and your customers — wide open to attack.
Let’s break it down.
Understanding the Shared Responsibility Model
Every major cloud provider — from AWS to Azure to GoogleCloud — follows the same basic principle: The cloud provider is responsible for the security of the cloud, but you, the customer, are responsible for the security in the cloud.
That distinction matters.
The provider ensures that its infrastructure is secure —things like physical data centers and global networks. But once you spin up avirtual machine, deploy a container, or store files in a bucket, you’re on the hook for configuring it securely.
This includes:
Too many organizations assume these details are handled by the cloud provider. That assumption can lead to dangerous oversights.
The Real-World Risks: Cloud Missteps with Serious Consequences
According to recent research from cloud security firm Mitiga, vulnerabilities and misconfigurations continue to be the root cause of cloud breaches. In their study of AWS, five impactful vulnerabilities and weak defaults were identified — including identity permission mismanagement, excessive service rights, and unguarded access tokens.
While AWS eventually mitigated these risks, the reality is sobering: These weren’t obscure bugs — they were flaws in how users configured their cloud services or misunderstood default settings. These types of issues aren’t AWS’s problem to fix – they’re the customer’s.
What This Means for Manufacturers
Manufacturing firms are increasingly reliant on cloud-hosted solutions for predictive maintenance, IoT sensor data aggregation, digital twins, and supply chain visibility. But the more you depend on cloud platforms, the more critical it becomes to:
This isn’t just about avoiding breaches — it’s about protecting intellectual property, customer trust, and uptime in an increasingly competitive and interconnected manufacturing environment.
Bottom Line: The Cloud Is Not a Set-It-and-Forget-It Solution
The cloud is like renting a state-of-the-art factory: The landlord ensures the building is up to code and the power stays on. But once you move in, you’re responsible for locking the doors, securing the machinery, and preventing unauthorized access.
At PMMI CyberHealth, we encourage every manufacturer to take stock of their cloud posture. Cloud transformation is powerful — but only when it’s done securely, with clear ownership of risks. Don’t wait for a breach to learn where your responsibilities begin and end.
