Surveyed U.S. manufacturers are expanding smart-factory systems while still reporting widespread email and mobile security breaches, according to Integris’ 2026 manufacturing technology and cybersecurity report.
The managed IT provider said the report draws on two surveys commissioned in late 2025 and early 2026: a Pollfish survey of 600 U.S. consumers and a Censuswide survey of 411 U.S. manufacturing executives from companies that outsource all or part of IT to a managed service provider. Respondents included operations leaders, IT directors, cybersecurity managers and C-suite decision makers.
Smart factory tools enter daily operations
The adoption numbers show how far factory modernization has moved into daily operations among respondents. Integris found 44% of surveyed manufacturers had deployed robotics and automation, 44% used AI or machine learning for predictive maintenance, 45% had smart energy management systems, 40% used real-time monitoring and 25% used digital twins.
Cloud infrastructure sits underneath much of that modernization. The report found 43% of surveyed manufacturers used hybrid cloud environments and 88% relied on managed IT services for cloud operations. Surveyed manufacturers ranked operational efficiency at 60% and agility or speed to market at 55% as cloud ROI drivers, ahead of cost reduction at 47%.
Email and mobile breaches remain widespread
The same report found 60% of manufacturing executives reported a significant email-based breach in the past 12 months, while 49% reported a mobile-device breach. Those breach figures sit alongside reported security investments that appear mature on paper: 84% had security awareness training programs, 56% used secure email gateways and 51% used AI-powered anti-phishing tools, according to the report.
The overlap is still relevant because connected manufacturing has weakened older assumptions about separation between office IT and plant systems. A NIST Manufacturing Innovation blog post said the boundaries between traditional IT and operational technology have “almost disappeared” as Industry 4.0 systems exchange more data across production environments.
NIST also notes that an OT breach can interrupt manufacturing, affect product quality, disrupt shipping and billing or expose sensitive company information.
Company size dictates modernization limits
Integris’ full report adds one detail missing from the announcement: company size is a strong predictor of adoption among respondents. Among surveyed firms, Industrial IoT use ranges from 34% at firms with 50 to 99 employees to 75% at firms with 4,500 to 5,000 employees.
The report says smaller manufacturers face budget constraints, skill gaps and competing priorities, leaving some caught between pressure to modernize and limited ability to defend new systems.
NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence points to a similar constraint in its security segmentation guidance for small manufacturing environments. NCCoE says small manufacturers often operate with limited staff and resources, and recommends grouping assets into security zones according to communication needs and protection requirements.
The NCCoE method starts before a new connected system becomes business-critical. Its six-step approach asks manufacturers to identify assets, assess risk, create security zones, determine zone risk levels, map communications between zones, select controls and create the logical security architecture.
AI integration adds security complexity
AI adds another layer to the same sequencing problem. Integris found 57% of surveyed manufacturers used AI in vulnerability management, 61% used AI-powered automated vulnerability scanning, 61% applied AI to predictive analytics and 50% used AI for alert prioritization and patch deployment. At the same time, 36% cited AI implementation as a top challenge.
U.S. and allied cyber agencies have made a similar point for industrial environments. In December guidance on the secure integration of AI in operational technology, CISA, NSA and partner agencies said AI can improve OT efficiency and decision-making, but owners and operators should use governance, monitoring, human oversight and fallback mechanisms when AI is connected to physical processes.
Cybersecurity emerges as a consumer trust issue
Surveyed consumers are also becoming part of the risk calculation. Integris found 89% of surveyed consumers believe manufacturers should disclose security breaches, 60% would stop buying from a manufacturer that failed to protect their data and 25% had already stopped buying from a manufacturer because of security concerns.
Among surveyed consumers,data security ranked third among consumer purchase factors at 32%, above brand reputation at 30%.
Kyle Wewe, chief revenue officer at Integris, linked the security issue to market trust. “The manufacturers that will win in this environment are the ones that treat cybersecurity as a brand issue, not just an IT function,” he said.