You know what most owners of small shops across Pennsylvania tell me? “We’re not big enough to be a target.” Let me tell you, in 2024, it wasn’t the giants like Norsk Hydro that had their worst year, it was the family run firms, the 40 person plastics plant, the main street metalworker, the folks making stuff their communities rely on.

Let me walk you through one of those incidents; real, recent, and way too close to home.

When the Lights Went Out in Susquehanna County

This spring, a family-owned manufacturer, which makes specialty food packaging, woke up to locked screens and ransom notes. Payroll, orders, invoices; all frozen. Production lines, silent. The ransomware spread so fast that by 9 AM, every computer on the plant floor and every office PC was “encrypted.” Their IT contractor traced the entry point. An employee had opened what looked like an invoice update from their steel supplier. But buried in that PDF? Malicious code, waiting for the click.

Within an hour, the attackers disabled security on all systems, wiped accessible backups, and left a payment demand of $200,000 in Bitcoin or they’d expose customer blueprints on the dark web. The owners tried restoring from the cloud, but recent backups were gone, overwritten when the hackers got in.

For six days, the shop was down. Orders missed, customers furious, overnight shipping bills piling up, paychecks at risk. It took a borrowed line of credit and a four-figure digital forensics contract just to reopen, and they still had a negotiated ransom to pay to stop their sensitive information from leaking online.

That’s the new face of cybercrime here in Pennsylvania. And it’s not going away.

Why Are Small Manufacturers Targeted by Cyberattacks?

Here’s the thing. Pennsylvania’s small and mid-sized manufacturers have become a favorite target for cyberattack groups. These groups know exactly how to exploit local firms with low cybersecurity and plenty to lose. In 2024, cyber incidents affecting small manufacturers increased over 50% in the commonwealth, costing millions across dozens of shops.

Don’t think it’s just the big guys, with the right email, anyone’s fair game.

Over half of manufacturing firms in 2024 faced a cyberattack, most starting with a single click on a phishing email.
Average downtime for small operations? Six days. That’s a week of lost orders, payroll panic, and expensive emergency repairs.
Many ransom demands now average $120,000–$350,000, and even if you don’t pay, recovery eats up every spare dollar.

What Most Shops Try and Why It Fails Against Cyberattacks

I hear this all the time:

“We back up to the cloud.” The trouble? If backups are exposed to your network, hackers will encrypt or delete those, too.
“Our people know not to click, mostly.” Doesn’t matter, attackers use supplier names, old invoice formats, and real company details found on your website to craft believable attacks.
“We use antivirus; we’re good.” Standard antivirus only blocks known threats. Cybercriminal groups develop new ways to slip right through.

The real cost? Every hour offline hurts local clients, erodes trust, and risks customer loss to out of state competitors.

5 Practical Defense Moves for Small Manufacturers

Manufacturing operations are prime targets for all types of cyberattacks. But the ones that are truly prepared make it not worth a cybercriminal’s time. Here’s what I actually recommend for Pennsylvania manufacturing firms. Moves I know work against these new attacks.

Immutable, Tested Backups: Store copies of your critical data in an immutable format. This means once a backup is created, it cannot be altered, overwritten, or deleted by anyone, including cyberattackers, ensuring your data is always recoverable. Crucially, test restores from those backups every month to prove they work when you need them most.
Strong Identity Protection (Multi-Factor Authentication – MFA): Require an app based second step (like a code from your phone) for anyone logging into your network, including remote workers and vendors. Eliminate “shared emails” and ensure every login is secure.
Advanced Email Defense: Invest in email filtering solutions that use artificial intelligence to scan attachments, spot suspicious sender behavior, and block anything unusual. Run monthly “fake phishing” tests for your team and provide friendly feedback to strengthen their awareness.
Secure Network Design: Only allow essential staff to access sensitive files or operational systems. Divide your network into separate zones, so, for example, your accounting systems can’t easily access production controls. Remove administrative access from daily user accounts.
24/7 Security Monitoring with a Dedicated Team: Proactive defense requires constant vigilance. Implement systems that provide real-time threat detection across your entire environment. This should be backed by a 24/7 security team making sure your business stays safe, immediately flagging and addressing any suspicious activity to keep your operations secure around the clock.

What Makes the Damage Worse?

In every Pennsylvania case this year, extended “dwell time” was the killer. Attacks that went undetected for days or even months meant hackers stole client designs, payroll data, or order lists before locking up machines. Once inside, they quickly disable or destroy on site and cloud backups, then threaten public exposure if you don’t pay up.

The Competitive Wake-Up Call

Here’s what I see. Shops that invest in tested backups, ongoing staff training, and secure network design recover in days, not weeks. Firms that rely on old antivirus, infrequent backups, and gut instinct lose customers, spend huge on recovery, and risk closure.

With supply chains so tight, if you let a cyberattack stall you once, it’s a reason for longtime clients to find another supplier.

Your Next Step

Don’t wait for “the big one.” This week:

Verify your backups: Pick one critical machine, restore it from last month’s snapshot, and confirm it works.
Audit your network separation—can your office network breach your production controls?
Need help? Book a 15 minute Cyber Strategy Call so you can patch the real gaps and sleep easier knowing you have a plan for when, not if, the attackers come.

FAQ

Q: We’re so small, are we really a target? Yes. Cyber criminals use automated tools to scan for unpatched systems, look for manufacturers by NAICS code, and send thousands of phishing emails at once. No one is too small.

Q: How fast do these attacks move? Once you click, most ransomware can lock every connected system in hours. Attackers try to disable security and destroy backups before you even know you’re compromised.

Q: Will cyber insurance cover the cost? Sometimes, but coverage keeps shrinking, especially if basic protections (MFA, immutable backups) aren’t proven. Many claims are being denied for “lack of standard controls.”

Q: Should we ever pay the ransom? Law enforcement says to avoid paying, it’s no guarantee you’ll get your data back, and it fuels more attacks.

Q: What’s the simplest first step? Enable MFA everywhere, including service accounts and VPNs. It’s like adding a steel door in front of your control room. Cheap, fast, and effective.

Sources:

How Manufacturers Can Stay Ahead of Cyberattacks

When the Lights Went Out in Susquehanna County

Why Are Small Manufacturers Targeted by Cyberattacks?

What Most Shops Try and Why It Fails Against Cyberattacks