Manufacturing is the most frequently targeted industry for cyberattacks, according to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2023 report. Ransomware attacks on manufacturing facilities cause immediate operational disruption — production lines stop, delivery schedules collapse, and recovery costs can run into the millions. In most cases, the initial entry point is a compromised credential.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) closes that entry point. LoginTC is built for manufacturing environments specifically — including on-premises deployments, OT and ICS networks, shared workstation environments, and facilities where smartphones and internet connectivity are restricted or unavailable.
Why Manufacturing and Engineering Organizations Are Targeted
Manufacturers are attractive targets for several reasons. Production environments are highly sensitive to downtime, which makes ransomware particularly effective as a leverage tool. Supply chain interconnections mean a breach at one facility can ripple outward to partners, customers, and distributors. And many manufacturing environments still run legacy OT systems that were never designed with modern authentication controls in mind.
Despite the risk, many manufacturers have been slow to adopt MFA — often out of concern that additional authentication steps will slow down workers on the production floor or disrupt operational workflows. LoginTC is designed to address both concerns: strong MFA that deploys without disrupting operations, with authentication methods suited to every type of user in the environment.
IT/OT Convergence and the Security Gap
Modern manufacturing facilities increasingly connect their operational technology (OT) networks — PLCs, SCADA systems, industrial control systems (ICS), and manufacturing execution systems (MES) — to corporate IT infrastructure. This convergence improves visibility and efficiency but also expands the attack surface significantly. An attacker who gains access to the IT network can potentially pivot into OT systems, with consequences that go beyond data theft into physical operations and safety.
Securing the boundary between IT and OT with consistent MFA is one of the most important steps a manufacturer can take. LoginTC supports both environments from a single platform, with deployment options that work regardless of whether the OT network has internet access or cloud connectivity.
Manufacturing environments often involve shared workstations where multiple workers log into the same machine across different shifts. Standard MFA approaches that tie authentication to a personal smartphone or individual device registration can create friction in these environments — workers may not carry their phones on the production floor, and per-user enrollment can be difficult to manage at scale.
LoginTC’s flexible authentication methods accommodate shared workstation environments. Hardware tokens and passcode grids can be issued per-user without requiring a smartphone, and administrators can configure authentication policies at the group or OU level to streamline deployment across large user populations.
Compliance Requirements for Manufacturers
Manufacturing organizations operating in regulated sectors face explicit MFA requirements from multiple frameworks and standards bodies:
CMMC 2.0 — Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requires MFA for defense contractors handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI); LoginTC Managed supports CMMC Level 2 and Level 3 compliance
NIST SP 800-171 — requires MFA for remote access and privileged accounts in environments handling CUI
IEC 62443 — the international standard for industrial cybersecurity; strong authentication is a core requirement for securing industrial automation and control systems
ISO 27001 — LoginTC is ISO 27001 certified, providing assurance for manufacturers operating under information security management requirements
Cyber Insurance — MFA on remote access and privileged accounts is now a near-universal requirement for cyber insurance coverage in manufacturing
On-Premises MFA for Manufacturing
Many manufacturers are uncomfortable routing authentication traffic through a third-party cloud service — particularly for OT systems, production data, or environments with strict data residency requirements. LoginTC Managed is a fully on-premises MFA solution that runs within your own infrastructure, with no authentication data leaving your network.
LoginTC Managed has been deployed in major manufacturing environments and critical infrastructure networks since 2011, with hands-on support from LoginTC’s engineering team throughout implementation.
Some manufacturing and engineering environments maintain air-gapped or isolated networks — particularly in defense manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, and facilities handling proprietary intellectual property. These environments cannot use cloud-based MFA solutions that require outbound internet connectivity to function.
LoginTC Managed deploys entirely on-premises with no external connections required. The authentication server runs within your isolated network, and authentication methods such as hardware tokens, passcode grids, and FIDO2 keys operate without any network dependency. MFA is enforced end to end within the air-gapped environment.
