How do you protect technical drawings and intellectual property in a manufacturing company?

Protection has to sit on the file, not on the network. With FileGrant, designs, CAD drawings and bills of materials are encrypted at creation with Lock&Go (CRYSTALS-Kyber, NIST FIPS 203), classified automatically, and bound by RBAC permissions that block download, printing and screen capture. Encryption stays active even when the file sits on a personal cloud account or a subcontractor's laptop. In 80% of manufacturing breaches the compromised data is internal, including designs and production plans (Verizon DBIR 2026), and intellectual property is the costliest data type at USD 178 per record (IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025).

What does NIS2 require from manufacturers in Italy?

NIS2 is transposed in Italy by Legislative Decree 138/2024, in force since 16 October 2024. Most manufacturers are in scope as important entities, either above the size thresholds or as part of an essential entity's supply chain. Important entities must adopt the security measures in Annex 1 of ACN determination 379907/2025 by October 2026. ACN determination 127437 of 13 April 2026 added the obligation to list relevant NIS suppliers during the annual information update, between 15 April and 31 May. Operationally, NIS2 does not mandate a specific algorithm: it requires encryption proportionate to risk, access control, and traceability you can demonstrate.

How do you share designs with subcontractors and suppliers without losing control of the file?

Through revocable permissions rather than an attachment or a cloud link. In FileGrant, the supplier gets a named Reader-level access with an expiry date, download blocking and a watermark; the file stays encrypted on their device and access can be revoked at any point, even while the file is open. Every access lands in the audit trail with user, timestamp and IP. A third party is involved in 61% of manufacturing breaches (Verizon DBIR 2026), and supplier compromise costs an average of USD 4.91 million (IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025).

How do you prevent data theft by an employee or an internal contractor?

Traditional DLP does not see the legitimate insider, because the access itself is authorized. The countermeasure is to strip value from whatever is taken: the file stays encrypted outside the platform, permissions block copying, printing and screen capture, and every action leaves a trace. RemoteGrant adds endpoint control: USB whitelisting by serial number, clipboard control, and blocking of unauthorized applications. Espionage is the motive in 15% of breaches in this sector and the human element appears in 56% (Verizon DBIR 2026), while malicious insiders are the costliest attack vector at USD 4.92 million (IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025).

How do you limit ransomware damage on production systems?

On two fronts. Prevention at the endpoint, with unauthorized application blocking, file deletion protection and anti-phishing. And damage reduction at the data layer: if designs and documents are born encrypted, the exfiltration that precedes the ransom demand produces unreadable files, which removes the leverage behind double extortion. Ransomware appears in 61% of manufacturing breaches, malware in 75%, and vulnerability exploitation is the initial access vector in 38% of cases (Verizon DBIR 2026). The average industrial-sector breach costs USD 5.00 million (IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025).

Engineers paste technical specs into ChatGPT. How do you govern shadow AI?

Blocking public tools without offering an alternative does not work: the work moves to channels with even less visibility. FileGrant blocks content scraping by public AI systems and classifies technical documents automatically; AIGrant provides an on-premise private AI that answers questions across manuals, specifications and documentation without data leaving the network, with segregation by department. Shadow AI adds an average of USD 670,000 to a breach, and in 40% of those cases intellectual property is compromised (IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025).

Does CyberGrant replace SharePoint, PLM or the production ERP?

No. FileGrant and RemoteGrant sit alongside the tools already in place and cover what those tools do not: persistent encryption that follows the file outside company systems, access revocation after sharing, screen capture blocking, AI scraping protection, and an audit trail usable in a NIS2 audit. PLM, ERP and SharePoint remain where the document lives. CyberGrant is what protects it once it leaves. On-premise deployment with zero-knowledge keys is available for organizations that cannot move project data to the cloud.

How to protect designs, technical drawings and IP in manufacturing

In manufacturing, downtime is the damage you see. Stolen designs are the damage that stays. Manufacturing ranks fourth worldwide for serious incidents and grew 79% in a single year (Clusit Report, March 2026). CyberGrant applies file-centric protection to drawings, source code and bills of materials: the file is encrypted at creation, stays encrypted at the supplier and in the cloud, and access can be revoked after it has been sent.

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Key Takeaways

Manufacturing is the fourth most attacked sector worldwide, with 7.6% of serious incidents and 79% year-on-year growth; in Italy it ranks second at 12.6% (Clusit Report, March 2026).
A third party is involved in 61% of manufacturing breaches: subcontractors, system integrators, component suppliers (Verizon DBIR 2026).
In 80% of breaches in the sector, the compromised data is internal: designs, drawings, production plans, reports (Verizon DBIR 2026).
Intellectual property is the costliest data type at USD 178 per record, and an industrial-sector breach costs an average of USD 5.00 million (IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025).
File-centric protection moves control from the network to the file: encryption at creation with CRYSTALS-Kyber (NIST FIPS 203), automatic classification, revocation after sharing, and an audit trail that satisfies NIS2 evidence requirements.

Why is manufacturing one of the most attacked sectors?

Manufacturing is the fourth sector worldwide for serious incidents, at 7.6% of the total and up 79% in one year (Clusit Report, March 2026). The reason is surface area: connected machinery, IT systems, and a supply chain where drawings and bills of materials leave the company every day. The Verizon DBIR 2026 finds ransomware in 61% of breaches in this vertical and a third party involved in another 61%. A perimeter keeps the attacker out. It does nothing for the file that already left.

Protecting intellectual property

Technical drawings, machine code and bills of materials are the competitive edge. Intellectual property is the costliest data type at USD 178 per record (IBM 2025), so it needs encryption at creation, not at the exit point.

Keeping production running

An attack can stop the lines within hours. Defense means isolating plant endpoints and keeping production data usable during the incident, through endpoint protection and application policies.

Stopping insider espionage

Espionage is the motive in 15% of breaches in this sector, and the human element appears in 56% (Verizon DBIR 2026). Malicious insiders are the single costliest attack vector at USD 4.92 million (IBM 2025).

Containing ransomware

Ransomware appears in 61% of manufacturing breaches, and unpatched vulnerabilities are the initial access vector in 38% of cases (Verizon DBIR 2026). A file encrypted at creation is unusable even once exfiltrated.

Securing the supply chain

A third party is involved in 61% of breaches in this sector (Verizon DBIR 2026). With secure file sharing, each supplier gets permissions, an expiry date and revocable access, with no account on your systems.

Proving compliance

Compliance is not only about avoiding fines. Customers and OEMs ask for evidence: who opened a file, when, from where. An audit trail turns a stated control into a demonstrable one.

How do CyberGrant solutions protect production data?

Quantum-safe Lock&Go encryption on designs, technical drawings and bills of materials (CRYSTALS-Kyber, NIST FIPS 203)
Sharing with subcontractors and OEMs: RBAC permissions, expiry dates, download and print blocking, revocation after sending
Automatic classification of technical content, protected viewer, blocking of public AI scraping

Protection for shop-floor endpoints and design workstations: ransomware, malware and unauthorized application blocking
Transparent encryption on USB drives, removable media and supplier workstations, with serial-number whitelisting
Remote plant access with an RDP port invisible to scanners and controlled file transfer

On-premise private AI over manuals, specifications and technical documentation, with no data leaving the plant network
Segregation by department and role: R&D, production, quality and procurement see only what applies to them
A governed alternative to shadow AI, which adds USD 670,000 to the average breach cost (IBM 2025)

Manufacturing

Encrypted technical attachments to suppliers and customers, inheriting the same policies as files in the platform
Access revocation after sending: a wrong recipient or a withdrawn quote closes in one click
Scheduled expiry on messages and specifications, with tracking of who opened them and from which IP

Attack Surface Discovery, Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing across IT infrastructure and industrial environments
Ransomware and phishing simulation to measure real detection and containment capability
Executive Summary and Technical Report with OWASP, MITRE and CVE mapping, usable in audits and OEM reviews

Encrypted vault for plant credentials: PLCs, MES, HMIs, supplier portals
Tracked sharing with maintenance teams and system integrators, without ever sending a password in clear text
Immediate revocation at the end of a job or a contract, without changing the credential

How to protect designs, technical drawings and IP in manufacturing

Key Takeaways

Why is manufacturing one of the most attacked sectors?

What are the main cyber risks for a manufacturing company?

How do CyberGrant solutions protect production data?

Case studies

Keep production running. Keep your data protected.

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