A secure supply chain is an advantage to all businesses that are a part of it. Minimal breaches mean that there’s less disruption to productivity and fewer physical and financial losses. It’s also an ethical priority, as communities often rely on supply chains to deliver essential goods.

In the digital age, there are additional threats to the industries, but technology also presents solutions. Supply chain businesses need to understand the current risks and establish protocols that reduce both digital and physical vulnerabilities. There are a few key areas to explore that can safeguard your company and strengthen your entire supply chain.

Making collaborative risk management plans

The security risks in supply chains aren’t getting any lower. To minimize potential disruptions, chains need to have proactive business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place. A business continuity plan is broader in scope, providing a framework that ensures your company and chain can keep operating productively even when there are issues. Disaster recovery plans, on the other hand, are more focused measures that empower you to address and overcome specific issues, like security breaches, quickly and effectively.

While each plan tends to be activated at different times, you should develop both well in advance of actually using them. This starts with every business in the supply chain independently assessing its specific security risk profile. Each contributor is likely to have different types and severity of vulnerability. For instance, in the oil and gas industry, businesses involved with exploration have a relatively low-risk profile. Production companies, on the other hand, have a larger cybersecurity vulnerability not just due to reliance on technological systems but also because a lot of this tech wasn’t designed with cybersecurity in mind and has been subject to retrofitting and patches.

Specialized security data analytics software can help with this. You can integrate platforms with your operations networks to provide real-time data on the physical and digital vulnerabilities in your business.

Staff members of all departments should be involved in this assessment, highlighting the hazards, the resource gaps, and how each security event impacts them. This makes them active participants in designing contingency measures that maintain safety and security, rather than simply being subjects of them.

You can then identify what safeguards are most relevant for generally strengthening your business and design a response to each type of security risk. It’s also wise to regularly meet with all partners in your supply chain to ensure consistency in your respective continuity and recovery plans.

Mitigating cybercrime

Cybercrime is one of the most disruptive risks that is prevalent across all links in the supply chain. Any supply chain partner that uses digital tools — whether for complex tasks such as route management construction delivery or simple email communications — can be subject to cyber threats.

Introducing a cybersecurity awareness program is a simple yet powerful protocol for all supply chain partners. This involves implementing a range of measures to strengthen the cyber resilience of your chain’s ecosystem. For instance, all contributors to the supply chain should maintain regular patch management. Understanding that device and software security features can become outdated or develop bugs and how to obtain patches is a basic precaution. Educating all staff and vendors on device hardening protocols — such as changing factory set passwords and updating these regularly — also reduces vulnerability.

Another vital part of maintaining supply chain security in the digital age is making sure all employees know the different types of cybercrime risks and how their behavior actively prevents breaches. For instance, you must show workers what phishing emails — designed to fool them into clicking on malware-infected links — look like. This type of risk is becoming increasingly problematic in construction with the prevalence of digital sign-in processes for financial and project software via smartphone devices. It can be easy for workers to mistake legitimate emails and SMS from these platforms unless they receive training on how to spot and handle them.

Using digital tools for physical threats

The digital age isn’t just at risk from digital threats to your security and continuity. There are still various physical security hazards throughout the supply chain that you and your partners need to mitigate. Digital tools can still help you strengthen your stance, though.

Some tools to consider include:

Cloud-based video surveillance: Preventing thefts and vandalism is a key part of protecting the supply chain. Reports of supply chain cargo thefts went up by 57% in 2023 compared to those in 2022. You can incorporate cloud-based video surveillance tools throughout the chain, though. Cameras can be present around warehouses and on vehicles. Managers can access current feeds and receive alerts about suspicious behavior via connected applications wherever they happen to be working.

Sensors in the IoT: The Internet of Things (IoT) has become more affordable and accessible in recent years. Sensors placed throughout warehouses, in industrial delivery or construction vehicles, and even on individual crates provide managers with real-time data. This can include alerts when breaches occur. Sensors also offer location data that can be useful for recovery in the event of thefts or missing items. These steps are particularly important for oil and gas or industrial chemical suppliers handling hazardous goods.

You should also ensure that there is sufficient infrastructure in place to support these tools. For instance, video surveillance and IoT devices for staff on the move need reliable internet connections. Investing in 5G mobile data may help to minimize lag that affects the consistency of your security data feed when items are moving through areas with high 4G network traffic.

Conclusion

Securing the supply chain in the digital age can be challenging, but it’s necessary to ensure the ongoing integrity of operations. There are various approaches to take, from implementing risk awareness programs across the chain to adopting protective digital tools, like cloud-based surveillance. Chain stakeholders must also remember that the security landscape is constantly changing. Regular assessments help everyone to make the most relevant adjustments and adopt valuable emerging security technologies.