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Toyota To Start Battery Production In The Usa
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Battery News
Feb 11, 2025

Toyota To Start Battery Production In The Usa

Toyota will soon be starting production of electric vehicle batteries at its new plant in the US state of North Carolina. The Japanese carmaker intends to supply batteries for the North American market starting in April 2025. Production will include batteries for hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and all-electric vehicles. It will be Toyotaʼs first battery plant outside of Japan.

With an investment volume of almost 14 billion US dollars, around 5,000 jobs are set to be created in North Carolina. Production is scheduled to ramp up to a total of more than 30 gigawatt-hours per year by 2030, with incremental ramp-ups of production lines. In December 2021, Toyota had first announced the construction of the battery facility in the town of Liberty. Groundbreaking for the plant had taken place in mid-2022. The site is one of the companyʼs eleven manufacturing facilities in the United States.

Source:https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/corporate/42193203.html?adid=ag478_mail&padid=ag478_mail

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Intel Hires Former Board Member As New Ceo
manufacturing net
Intel Hires Former Board Member As New CeoStruggling chipmaker Intel has hired former board member and semiconductor industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as the latest in a succession of CEOs to attempt to turn around a once-dominant company that helped define Silicon Valley. Tan, 65, will take over the daunting job next Tuesday, more than three months after Intel's previous CEO, Pat Gelsinger, abruptly retired amid a deepening downturn that triggered massive layoffs and raised questions about the chipmaker's ability to survive as an independent company. This won't be Tan's first time running a semiconductor company, nor his first association with Intel. He spent more than a decade as CEO of Cadence Design Systems, which makes software that helps designs processors, and joined Intel's board of directors in 2022 before stepping down last August. Tan will rejoin Intel's board in addition to becoming CEO. “Lip-Bu is an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across the product and foundry ecosystems, and proven track record of creating shareholder value is exactly what Intel needs in its next CEO,” Intel's interim Executive Chairman Frank Yeary said. Intel has been led by interim co-CEOs, David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, since Gelsinger walked away from a job that he undertook in February 2021. Although Gelsinger arrived at Intel amid high hopes, his tenure was a major letdown as Intel's stock price plunged 60%, wiping out $160 billion in shareholder wealth. Leading up to his departure last year, Intel laid of 17,500 of its employees — about 15% of its workforce — and suspended its dividend to save money on its way to an annual loss of $19 billion. More recently, Intel delayed the opening of two new chip factories i n Ohio to ensure the projects are completed in a “financially responsible manner.” The project is supposed to draw upon the $7.8 billion in funding earmarked for Intel in the CHIPS Incentives Program created during the administration of President Joe Biden. It was the latest sign of distress for Intel, a Santa Clara, California, company that helped launch Silicon Valley by developing the microprocessors that enabled the personal computer revolution under the leadership of its CEO at that time, Andy Grove. But as its leadership changed Intel missed the technological shift to mobile computing triggered by Apple's 2007 release of the iPhone, and it's lagged more nimble chipmakers. Intel's troubles have been magnified since the advent of artificial intelligence — a booming field where the chips made by once-smaller rival Nvidia have become tech's hottest commodity. Nvida now boasts a market value of $2.8 trillion compared to Intel's $90 billion. Intel's stock price rose more than 10% in Wednesday's extended trading after Tan's hiring was announced, indicating investors believe he will revive the company's fortunes. While Tan was Cadence Design's CEO from January 2009 to May 2021, the company's stock price increased by 44-fold. Tan's past accomplishments resulted him being named winner of the Semiconductor Industry Association's 2022 Robert Noyce Award — an honor named after one of Intel's co-founders.
factory
13 March 2025
Q&A: Dolphin Labs Captures Energy One Wave At A Time
manufacturing net
Q&A: Dolphin Labs Captures Energy One Wave At A TimeDolphin Labs is a four-person startup based in Oakland, California that is pushing the boundaries of wave-generated power with a prototype of their key product, the xNode Wave Energy Converter. The xNode is a renewable energy solution geared towards offshore operators that can produce up to 1 kW of persistent power.  In this exclusive interview conducted at 3DEXPERIENCE WORLD in Houston, Texas, Dolphin Labs Chief Engineer Chris Rauch talks about what it took to get the startup's prototype into the water, the importance of powering remote data systems, and the creative power of SolidWorks and AI. Devon Verbsky (DV): Give me a rundown of Dolphin Labs, its creation and what's happening today. Chris Rauch (CR): Dolphin Labs is a spinoff from a company called Cal Wave Power Technologies. Cal Wave was founded in 2014. They are working to solve grid scale or utility scale power using wave energy with a good percentage of communities being within whatever their distance is from the shore. With their focus being on grid scale, their customer base is different than what Dolphin Labs does, and the size and scope of their projects are different. We'd love a smaller system that can be used remotely. We don't need a cable back to the beach. Cal Wave always has a big cable back to the beach. But they have a patent that covers what we call the xNode, which is the key product for Dolphin Labs. There are two ways to tell us apart from Cal Wave. Cal Wave is 100 kilowatts and above and a cable back to the beach. Dolphin Labs is less than 100 kilowatts and not necessarily a cable. A lot of our applications are fully remote sensing types of applications. What we're doing at Dolphin really has to do with enabling sensing in remote locations, and what's great about it is we use renewable power to power these at energy densities that are greater than what you get out of wind and solar. DV: You're the chief engineer of Dolphin Labs, but I know you have experience with L3Harris Technologies and the Navy's MUUV program—and you have a background in both marine and defense instrumentation. How has that previous experience helped you at Dolphin Labs? CR: I went to school for naval architecture, pursuing an engineering discipline that's focused on the ocean. Early career work, I was in Hawaii designing boats on the water. I did a lot of test engineering on the water. I left there to join Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution working on autonomous underwater vehicles—robots you’d pre-program to dive to the ocean depths. All of my personal interests and professional experience have now come together as an opportunity presented to team up and join a wave energy conversion company. DV: What's the importance of powering data solutions with a platform like xNode? CR: Dolphin Labs started in 2022 with an emphasis on the customer discovery side. Talking to people in the Navy, both civilian and uniform sides. Talking to people in oil and gas. In those customer discovery interviews, one of the things that was discovered, NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have this network of buoys around the world that are gathering meteorological data. Most of those buoys, the sensors are only at a 10% duty cycle. They're on six minutes for every hour. The main reason that happens is because of the amount of power they have on board—they can't operate any more than that. Now, you don't necessarily need a 100% duty cycle to be able to predict the weather, but I've never met a scientist who doesn't want more data, so we give them more power to be able to gather more data. In the case of the Navy or defense, you can see certain things with satellites, which is great looking down, but having a view from the surface, looking out or gathering data underwater, is a whole other problem. It gives you a much different view than a satellite view. DV: How does SolidWorks benefit you at Dolphin Labs? CR: Professionally, I've been using SolidWorks for 20 years. SolidWorks allows us a CAD tool that we can do all of our mechanical design in; some level of simulation; and then—with the recent adoption of 3DEXPERIENCE—having our team on both coasts of the U.S., we're able to do file management in an easy way. I can be working on a file, I can have it checked out; my colleagues on the west coast can come right in and be working on assembly that has that file and they're not impacted. With 3DEXPERIENCE, you have a PDM solution, but you don't have to have an on-premise system. You don't have to worry about firewalls and people at remote locations being able to get into your PDM network.  DV: Do you think the work of Dolphin Labs falls under the same industry trends as Industry 4.0 or even Industry 5.0? CR: The marine technology space is a low volume, high mix world. With the xNode, we have this core platform that can produce energy and that can store energy. It has a processor or a capability to do some behaviors. The value is, we can have different customers come to us and say, they have a sensing need. They need to integrate sensors that can do X, Y, and Z, so we will integrate OEM level packages of those sensors. That being said, with the versatility, it’s hard for us to have a fully automated manufacturing line. DV: What kind of expansion are you looking for or could you potentially expect with Dolphin Labs? CR: We're currently four and we have job recs out for two more spots right now. We are trying to be smart, and I don't want to say constrain our growth, but be mindful of our growth. We're taking a very methodical approach, and the marine tech industry is very niched. We do have growth plans, we do have hopes. When we hit a certain revenue level, we expect to have X number of employees, and we have that all mapped out. We are still very much in the prototyping phase. DV: Would you consider Dolphin Labs at all as a startup? CR: Absolutely. The definition I like the most of a startup is “A startup is an organization seeking a repeatable business model.” We right now we have ideas, but until we have customers buying on a repeated level to know what that repeated business model is, we'll be a startup until then. DV: So what about your AI impact? CR: We're gathering data, and though we haven't fully implemented this yet because we're still prototyping, but because of our power levels, we can have edge computing on board. This means that we can have a processor on board that's processing the data which is great, but then requires more power, which reduces your endurance and how much data you can collect. Because the xNode is at sea and it won't be brought up on a ship every day for a data download, we then need to send data back to the beach. By using AI tied in with our edge computing, not only can we then process the data at sea, but then we're only going to send the data back to the beach that's of interest. We'll use AI to help identify those anomalies. DV: What's next for Dolphin Labs? CR: We're actively working hard right now to get to our first sea trial. Our first sea trial is planned to be three months, looking to start towards the end of Q3 or beginning of Q4 2025. We are working very hard on a lot of design details, pulling that all together. Our focus is really on getting this thing in the water. It'll be on the West Coast, California, and we have a couple sites. The West Coast Pacific Ocean has longer period waves, and that's really important. It makes a lot more sense from a logistical standpoint to build the prototype out there.
factory
13 March 2025
The Upsurge And Threats Of Self-Reproducing Ai
manufacturing net
The Upsurge And Threats Of Self-Reproducing AiArtificial intelligence (AI) has made incredible progress in the past few years, with computers learning and doing more and more. To me, the most thrilling but divisive field of study in AI may be self-replicating AI—machines that reproduce their own functionality. While full AI self-replication is purely theoretical, current research suggests that AI systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated, particularly in replicating aspects of their own software. As developments in these fields continue, it’s important we ensure self-replicating AI is safe, responsible, and aligned with human values. At its simplest, self-replicating AI means AI systems that can replicate themselves automatically. This could be achieved by replicating their code in software form. Such AI theoretically would have evolutionary algorithms integrated within, allowing the software to improve itself continuously. Still, actual development currently tops out at the software level of replication, it needs to be human guided, and it has to work in defined spaces.  There are currently studies that focus on self-updating software where the AI models set their parameters without human adjustment utilizing machine learning processes. Those types of self-improving machines are being implemented today already in natural language, predictive modeling, and machine-made decisions. Full AI self-copying however is still entirely hypothetical.  Present outcomes indicate that AI systems have been demonstrated to be capable of copying portions of their functionality. This is a testament to the intelligence of AI, but care should be taken to distinguish between software duplication and independent self-replication. Compared to living things that reproduce and replicate themselves biologically, AI systems continue to require set parameters, human assistance, and engineered environments to be efficient.  Concerns about self-replicating AI for security and ethics are increasing. 2024 was a breakthrough year for AI governance and safety, with the AI Action Summit in Paris playing a prominent role. The experts during the summit emphasized that AI development should be weighed against strong security controls, pushing for international minimum safety standards to lower the risk potential. One of the key concerns is ensuring AI systems are not able to reproduce in an uncontrolled manner, which could lead to unforeseen consequences or misuse by malicious parties. Some potential risks include: To keep such threats under control, security testing and regulatory oversight should be implemented. Product security testing can identify vulnerabilities in AI models that may be employed to reduce unintended replication. Penetration testing and security audits can discover vulnerabilities in AI code, preventing unauthorized control. And adversarial testing can be used to anticipate when cybercriminals may attempt to employ self-replicating AI to design autonomous malware or cyberattacks.  Independent security researchers and regulatory bodies have a duty to make sure AI replication is safe and doesn't evade checks preventing uncontrolled proliferation. The most crucial safety measures against AI replication threats include: As development in AI increases, ethical aspects must always remain a top concern in future innovation in self-replicating AI. The combination of ethics and AI is more than a matter of safety; it is also about issues of autonomy, responsibility, and the overall effect of self-replicating systems on society. Once AI reaches a level where it can optimize its own capabilities without human intervention, it will be essential to ensure that such advances are in line with human values and for the benefit of society.  The Paris AI Action Summit illustrated the need for coordination between policymakers, researchers, and AI creators in establishing safety standards. One of the proposed answers that came from the conference is the placement of AI watchdog bodies that track progress in self-replicating AI and provide guidelines for their appropriate use. An open dialogue between governments, technology companies, and researchers can further help craft policy to encourage innovation as well as anticipate the risks.  While self-replicating AI is only theoretical today, its influence on the future of technology, security, and ethics is immense. As AI advances, proactive safety protocols, regulatory guidelines, and rigorous testing will be crucial to mitigating threats. By ensuring a responsible approach to AI development, we can unlock its potential for progress while avoiding unintended consequences.  In the coming years, AI research will certainly explore the possibilities of self-replicating systems but with an even stronger emphasis on security and ethics. The secret to a peaceful approach will be to make AI replication controlled, traceable, and aligned with our human values. If handled responsibly, self-replicating AI can revolutionize industries from automation to scientific research. But left uncontrolled, it can give rise to fresh security challenges for us to face. Douglas McKee is the Executive Director of Threat Research at SonicWall.
factory
13 March 2025
What'S A Recession, And Why Is Rising Anxiety About It Roiling Markets?
manufacturing net
What'S A Recession, And Why Is Rising Anxiety About It Roiling Markets?WASHINGTON (AP) — Stock markets are plunging, consumers and businesses have started to sour on the economy, and economists are marking down their estimates for growth this year, with some even seeing rising odds of a recession. The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index slipped into a correction last week, defined as a 10% drop from its most recent peak. The broader S&P 500 neared that level Tuesday. It's a sharp shift from just a month ago, when stock indices were at record highs and consumer sentiment was rapidly improving. Many business executives were optimistic that President Donald Trump would cut taxes and pursue deregulation, which they expected would bolster growth. Instead, Trump has aggressively implemented tariffs — and tariff threats — against the United States' largest trading partners. On Tuesday, Trump boosted import taxes on steel and aluminum from Canada to 50%, from 25%, in response to Ontario's imposition of duties on electricity it sends to the United States. For now, the economy appears to be stable. Stock prices often fluctuate and sharp, temporary drops typically don't harm the economy. Most analysts still think the chances of a recession are fairly small. Goldman Sachs expects slower growth this year than last but still puts the odds of a recession at just 20%. Still, fears of a downturn are rising as investors, economists, and business executives are realizing that Trump's import taxes are much more at the forefront of his economic policy this time than his last term in the White House. Tax cuts and deregulation appear for now to be on the back-burner. During Trump's first term, tax cuts came before the import duties. Tariffs can slow the economy in a variety of ways: By raising prices for consumers, they can slow spending. Businesses may pull back on investing in new projects if they face higher costs from tariffs. And the uncertainty from Trump's on-again, off-again approach can also cause firms to delay hiring and investment. "The longer the tariffs stay on, the more the risk of recession grows," says Luke Tilley, chief economist at M&T Bank/Wilmington Trust. Here are some questions and answers about recessions: Are there any signs a recession is imminent? Not really. But one development that has sparked widespread fears is a real-time economy tracker maintained by the Federal Reserve's Atlanta branch. Last week it showed a sharp downshift and is now projecting that the U.S. economy will shrink at an annual rate of 2.4% in the first three months of this year. The Atlanta Fed's tracker is not technically a forecast but instead a running tally that is updated as economic data is released. It turned negative after trade data showed a surge in imports in January, which likely reflected an effort by businesses to get ahead of tariffs. Most economists still expect the U.S. economy to expand in the first quarter, though at a slower pace. JPMorgan sees growth slowing to just 1% at an annual rate in the first quarter, down from 2.3% in last year's fourth quarter. Still, Harvard University economist Larry Summers, a former treasury secretary for the Clinton administration, on Monday put the odds of a recession at 50-50. "All the emphasis on tariffs and all the ambiguity and uncertainty has both chilled demand and caused prices to go up," Summers posted on X. "We are getting the worst of both worlds -- concerns about inflation and an economic downturn and more uncertainty about the future and that slows everything." Typically, a recession occurs when some short of shock hits the economy, such as the pandemic in 2020, or the bursting of the housing bubble in 2007. It's not yet clear that tariffs will have a large enough impact to knock the economy into reverse. Dan North, senior economist at Allianz Trade Americas, a financial services firm, doesn't expect a recession, but says a "full-blown trade war" with all Trump's proposed tariffs taking effect and sparking retaliation by other countries overseas "could constitute a shock." What else has caused the stock markets to drop? Trump helped spark the sharp market selloff Monday by refusing to rule out a recession during a Sunday interview on Fox News. When asked whether he expected a recession this year, Trump said, "I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. ... It takes a little time." Some of Trump's advisers, however, have dismissed recession concerns and have said the economy should continue to grow. Why didn't Trump's tariffs spark recession fears last time? The import taxes Trump is threatening to impose this time are far more sweeping than the duties he put in place in 2018-2019, which were mostly focused on China and a few targeted items, such as steel, aluminum, and washing machines. Now, Trump has placed 20% duties on all imports from China, has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico — the United States' two largest trading partners — and also says the U.S. will place reciprocal tariffs on all countries that have tariffs on U.S. exports, including Europe, India, and Japan. All told, Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, estimates that the average U.S. tariff on imported items could rise 10 percentage points as a result, five times the increase he imposed in his first term. And most economists say that Trump's 2018-2019 duties did cause a downturn in the manufacturing sector. The Federal Reserve ended up cutting its benchmark interest rate three times in 2019 to shore up the economy. Other things also could take a toll on the economy: Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, is seeking to cut tens of thousands of federal government jobs and sharply cut government spending, which could weigh on the economy. Major commercial airlines said this week that they are seeing a slowdown in government travel. Delta Air Lines said Monday that declining consumer and business confidence amid widespread economic uncertainty is weakening demand. What signals would suggest that a recession has begun? The clearest signal would be a steady rise in job losses and a surge in unemployment. Companies generally stop hiring, and sometimes lay off workers, if they see their business shrinking. The unemployment rate did tick up last month, to 4.1% from 4%, though that is still quite low. But employers added 151,000 jobs, a sign that businesses are still seeking to add workers. Many economists monitor the number of people who seek unemployment benefits each week, a gauge that indicates whether layoffs are worsening. Weekly applications for jobless aid remain quite low by historical standards. Who decides when a recession has started? Recessions are officially declared by the obscure-sounding National Bureau of Economic Research, a group of economists whose Business Cycle Dating Committee defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months." The committee considers trends in hiring. It also assesses many other data points, including gauges of income, employment, inflation-adjusted spending, retail sales and factory output. It assigns heavy weight to a measure of inflation-adjusted income that excludes government support payments like Social Security. Yet the organization typically doesn't declare a recession until well after one has begun, sometimes as long as a year afterward.
factory
13 March 2025
Cost Of Hacks In Manufacturing Up 17%
manufacturing net
Cost Of Hacks In Manufacturing Up 17%While overall costs of cybersecurity breaches fell in 2024, that’s not true in manufacturing, where the cost of an average hack soared 17.5% from $4.73 million to $5.556 million. The $830K jump is the priciest of any industry. The study examined IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach research, grouping breach targets by year and industry, to find that many industries once considered low-priority for hackers saw their costs increase. Among the worst hit? With manufacturing and retail, technology companies also saw their breach costs soar more than 17% year over year. With this year’s increase in costs per hack, industrial organizations in manufacturing or chemical processing and engineering now see the average hack price tag 10.5% above the all-industry average. Because they were previously perceived to have a low vulnerability to hacks, many manufacturers still go without robust proactive cybersecurity protection. The result is that new hacking events, even when relatively small, can snowball into major incidents. A minor breach can quickly escalate into a catastrophic event if left unchecked. Breaches have resulted in settlements ranging from $30 to $50 million, with customer data exposure affecting anywhere from nine to over 300 million records. Companies that fail to invest in robust cybersecurity platforms risk prolonged recovery periods, severe financial penalties, and the erosion of customer trust. These costs that far exceed the price of proactive defense. Manufacturing is especially challenged by factors that may lead to increased costs. It has high operational disruption risks, complex interconnected environments, and an increasing reliance on digitization technology, from automation and robotics to networked IoT devices. Uncoincidentally, the industry is also seeing increasing attacks by sophisticated threats, from ransomware to supply chain attacks and zero-days.  When production lines can be halted or held hostage, threat actors find value in the attack. Manufacturing can yield an attractive bounty in the form of intellectual property, and design or trade secrets. As rapidly digitizing manufacturers continue to scale and diversify their ecosystems, they may be seeing that breaches are increasingly likely to impact large-scale operations and systems in ways that are expensive to fix. As some fields reduce their overall costs, attackers turn to less prepared industries, like manufacturing, along with retail and technology. These bastions of consumer data haven’t found themselves as heavily targeted in the past, but they have also accelerated their digital transformation in recent years with new remote work infrastructures, cloud adoption, digital collaboration, client portals, digital payment systems, and even virtual betting apps and online gambling platforms. In manufacturing, increasingly interlinked companies, along with their vendors and contractors, are beginning to see that cyberattacks on one supplier can have cascading consequences on entire ecosystems, and that attackers who enter one part of their ecosystem can create large-scale impacts across systems. The future isn’t about undoing increased connectivity. It’s about digitizing with smarter security that thwarts attacks before they turn into big costs.  The study demonstrates that even well-known targets can significantly decrease their exposure.  Today, sectors like healthcare, with breach costs down 10.6% year over year, likely find that heavy regulation and proactive security have helped manage the fallout of breaches. With compliance pressure comes the need to implement strong cybersecurity defenses or face fines, and proactive security means breaches get caught in real time, before they can spread, along with costs and damages.  For manufacturing, a similar one-two punch can cap rising costs and reverse the trend. With regulation has come accountability: but all organizations can embrace regular security audits and testing, as well as improve incident response planning. And as breach costs rise, security investment is naturally incentivized; teams that identify breaches as they’re happening are positioned to head off high-ticket damages. The next phase of cybersecurity will likely be defined not just in how well companies can prevent breaches from happening, but in how they minimize their financial and operational impact.
factory
13 March 2025
Trump Threatens 200% Tariff On European Wine After Eu Floats Whiskey Tariff
manufacturing net
Trump Threatens 200% Tariff On European Wine After Eu Floats Whiskey TariffWASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey. The European import tax, which was unveiled in response to steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S. administration, is expected to go into effect on April 1, just ahead of separate reciprocal tariffs that Trump plans to place on the EU. But Trump, in a morning social media post, vowed a new escalation in his trade war if the EU goes forward with the planned 50% tax on American whiskey. "If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES," Trump wrote. "This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday that the EU trade commissioner would be having a phone call Friday with his U.S. counterpart. "We don't like tariffs because we think tariffs are taxes and they are bad for business and they are bad for consumers," she said. "We have always said at the same time that we will defend our interests. We've said it, and we've shown it, but at the same time I also want to emphasize that we are open for negotiations." The U.S. president has defined his opening weeks in the White House with near daily drama regarding tariffs, saying that taxing imports might cause some economic pain but would eventually lead to more domestic manufacturing and greater respect for America. The S&P 500 stock index fell roughly 1.5% in Thursday afternoon trading, while European alcohol stocks also tumbled. But with the EU and Trump now tussling over alcohol tariffs, the impact of a trade war could surface directly in ways consumers could quickly see. It's unclear how the import taxes would be absorbed among vintners, distillers, brewers, distributors, retailers and consumers. Because of Trump's threat, a previously untariffed $15 bottle of Italian Prosecco could possibly increase in price to $45. Similarly, Europe's response to Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs means that the cost of a 30-euro bottle of bourbon in Paris could increase to 45 euros. Holly Seidewand, owner of First Fill Spirits, a shop in Saratoga Springs, New York, said before Trump threatened the tariffs on European alcohol, the spirits industry was already reeling from layoff announcements in the Kentucky Bourbon sector and the tariffs planned by the EU on American spirits. "This ongoing tariff war doesn't just harm importers — it weakens domestic brands, disrupts distributors, and squeezes retailers who rely on global selections," she said. "In the end, consumers will bear the brunt of it all." Gabriel Picard, who heads the French Federation of Exporters of Wines and Spirits, said 200% tariffs would be "a hammer blow" for the sector. He said the U.S. market is worth 4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) annually for French exporters of wines and spirits. "Not a single bottle will continue to be expedited if 200% tariffs are applied to our products. All exports to the United States will come to a total, total, halt," Picard said in an interview with The Associated Press. "With 200% duties, there is no more market." As of now, Europe seems unwilling to back down. "Trump is escalating the trade war he has chosen," Laurent Saint-Martin, the French delegate minister for foreign trade, said on X. "France, together with the European Commission and our partners, is determined to fight back. We will not give in to threats and will always protect our industries." Trump's latest tariff threats suggested that even companies that have publicly stood by him could be collateral damage, raising questions about whether the wider business community would be willing to openly challenge a series of trade wars that have hurt the stock market and scared consumers who worry about inflation worsening. Bernard Arnault, the CEO of French luxury goods company LVMH, attended Trump's inauguration in January. His company's wine and spirits brands, which include Moët & Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy, could be subject to the retaliatory tariffs the U.S. president is seeking. The Italy-based Campari Group could also be hurt, after the White House highlighted it at Tuesday's press briefing for possibly opening a U.S. factory. Still, Trump feels aggrieved by the EU, complaining to reporters on Thursday about the lack of U.S. auto sales there as well as the lawsuits and fines filed against Google and Facebook parent Meta. "They are suing all of these companies, and they're taking billions of dollars out of American companies," Trump said. "And I guess they're using it to run Europe or something." Trump, in announcing the new steel and aluminum tariffs on Wednesday, openly challenged U.S. allies and vowed to take back wealth "stolen" by other countries, and he drew quick retaliation. He has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging "reciprocal" rates starting on April 2. The EU announced its own countermeasures. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that as the United States was "applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros," or about $28 billion. Those measures cover not just steel and aluminum products but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods. European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said Thursday shortly before Trump's announcement that the EU was "prepared for whatever might come, and we have been preparing for over a year." "We call on the U.S. to immediately revoke the tariffs imposed yesterday, and we want to negotiate to avoid tariffs in the future," Gill added. "They bring nothing but lose-lose outcomes, and we want to focus on win-win outcomes." U.S. whiskey makers, meanwhile, encouraged Trump to broker a deal. "We urge President Trump to secure a spirits agreement with the EU to get us back to zero-for-zero tariffs, which will create U.S. jobs and increase manufacturing and exports for the American hospitality sector," Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, said in a statement. When Europe responded to Trump's 2018 tariffs with a 25% tax on U.S. whiskey, exports to the EU fell by 20% through 2021, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. Trump's separate 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico could put 31,000 jobs at risk in the sector.
factory
13 March 2025
The Hidden Security Gaps In Manufacturing: A Case Study On Risk Acceptance Gone Wrong
manufacturing net
The Hidden Security Gaps In Manufacturing: A Case Study On Risk Acceptance Gone WrongManufacturers are rapidly embracing digital operations, yet many still depend on outdated risk assessments, which can lead to critical vulnerabilities remaining unchecked. I've been in manufacturing cybersecurity long enough to know one thing: most company leaders think they're safe – until they're not. Consider the case of a global manufacturing organization that believed it had a strong handle on cybersecurity when, in reality, half of the facility's critical systems were operating with significant security vulnerabilities. This critical gap surfaced not because of a new threat, but because of risks the organization had deemed "acceptable" years ago. This approach to cybersecurity risk management is all too common in manufacturing. Old, seemingly harmless risks that your team "accepted" years ago—and then promptly forgot about—could be a ticking time bomb sitting right under your nose. On paper, this manufacturer appeared to have everything right. Imagine driving a car and never checking the oil or the tires after the first inspection. Sounds crazy, right? But that's exactly what many manufacturers are doing with their technology. This oversight created a "set-it-and-forget-it" approach to risk management that exposed critical operational technology (OT) systems to evolving cyber threats. Manufacturing isn't like other industries. You're not just managing computer networks – you're dealing with a complex ecosystem where business systems meet factory floor technology. It’s a delicate balance of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT). Your robotic arms, temperature controls, and assembly line systems weren't originally designed with cybersecurity in mind, creating inherent vulnerabilities. These are legacy systems trying to survive in a hyper-connected digital world. When these systems connect to IT networks—often necessary for modern digital manufacturing—they create an expanded attack surface that cybercriminals are eager to exploit. If attackers breach these systems, the consequences are immediate and severe—production lines grind to a halt, quality control systems fail, and an entire operation can be shut down within minutes—creating ripple effects throughout your entire supply chain. Consider a ransomware attack targeting one of these unprotected OT systems. Years ago, when the risk was initially "accepted," ransomware might have been a minor concern. Today, with manufacturing becoming a prime target for cybercriminals, such an attack could devastate operations and result in millions in losses. Recent history proves this isn't hypothetical. In 2021, Foxconn, a massive electronics manufacturer supplying tech giants like Apple and Google, faced a single ransomware attack that cost them over $100 million in estimated losses. How? Through a simple social engineering trick that was able to exploit vulnerable systems and encrypt files and data. Exactly the kind of evolving threat that outdated risk assessments fail to address. How can manufacturing security teams fight back? Organizations can protect themselves by implementing five critical strategies: As manufacturing continues its digital transformation, a proactive and adaptive cybersecurity strategy is essential. Organizations must evolve their approach to risk management from a static, one-time assessment to a dynamic, continuous process that acknowledges human vulnerabilities and the changing threat landscape. The manufacturers who will be standing strong five years from now aren't the ones with the most expensive technology. They're the ones who treat cybersecurity as a critical part of their business strategy, not just another checkbox.
factory
13 March 2025
Cisa, Fbi Issue Medusa Ransomware Advisory
manufacturing net
Cisa, Fbi Issue Medusa Ransomware AdvisoryThe Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency —in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC)— has released joint Cybersecurity Advisory, #StopRansomware: Medusa Ransomware. This advisory provides tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), indicators of compromise (IOCs), and detection methods associated with known Medusa ransomware activity. Medusa is a ransomware-as-a-service variant first identified in June 2021, and has been used to conduct ransomware attacks. As of December 2024, over 300 victims from critical infrastructure sectors have been impacted, including medical, education, legal, insurance, technology and manufacturing. Medusa actors use common techniques like phishing campaigns and exploiting unpatched software vulnerabilities. The Medusa ransomware variant is unrelated to the MedusaLocker variant the Medusa mobile malware variant, per the FBI’s investigation. According to CISA, immediate actions organizations can take to mitigate Medusa ransomware activity include:  Medusa originally operated as a closed ransomware variant, meaning all development and associated operations were controlled by the same group of cyber threat actors. While Medusa has since progressed to using an affiliate model, important operations such as ransom negotiation are still centrally controlled by the developers. Both Medusa developers and affiliates employ a double extortion model, where they encrypt victim data and threaten to publicly release exfiltrated data if a ransom is not paid. Medusa developers typically recruit initial access brokers (IABs) in cybercriminal forums and marketplaces to obtain initial access to potential victims. Potential payments between $100 and $1 million are offered to these affiliates with the opportunity to work exclusively for Medusa. Medusa IABs (affiliates) are known to make use of common techniques, such as phishing campaigns and exploiting unpatched software vulnerabilities. Medusa actors also use living off the land (LOTL) and legitimate tools Advanced IP Scanner and SoftPerfect Network Scanner for initial user, system and network enumeration.  Roger Grimes, a defense evangelist at cybersecurity solutions provider KnowBe4, offered the following comments in response to the advisory:“This continues CISA’s long tradition of warning people about ransomware that spreads using social engineering that then does not suggest security awareness training as a primary way to defeat it. I’ll never understand it. "Social engineering is involved in 70 percent - 90 percent of all successful hacking attacks. CISA notes that one of the two main ways this ransomware variant spreads is through social engineering, and then in its three top-level recommendations and 15 recommended mitigations, it does not recommend end-user education to prevent them from being tricked into revealing logon credentials or executing the malware. "It’s like learning that criminals are breaking into your house all the time through the windows and then recommending more locks for the doors. It does a huge disservice. It is this continued misalignment between the ways we are most often attacked by hackers and their malware programs and how we are told to defend ourselves that allows hackers to be so long-term successful.”
factory
13 March 2025
Surge In Machine Identities Leaves Organizations More Vulnerable To Attacks
manufacturing net
Surge In Machine Identities Leaves Organizations More Vulnerable To AttacksCyberArk, a leading provider of global identity security solutions, has released its 2025 State of Machine Identity Security Report, revealing that machine identity-related security incidents are on the rise, as the volume and complexity of machine identities continue to multiply. According to the report, 72 percent of organizations have experienced at least one certificate-related outage in the past year, marking a significant increase compared to previous years. Additionally, 50 percent of security leaders reported security incidents or breaches due to compromised machine identities.   Machine identities—including certificates, keys, secrets and access tokens—are exploding amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, cloud native innovations and shorter machine identity lifespans. As a result, organizations are struggling to keep up, and siloed approaches to securing machine identities creates its own risks. The report shows the substantial business impacts of not securing machine identities effectively, leaving organizations vulnerable to costly outages and breaches. Some highlights of the report include: “Machine identities of all kinds will continue to skyrocket over the next year, bringing not only greater complexity but also increased risks,” said Kurt Sand, GM of Machine Identity Security at CyberArk. “Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting machine identities – from API keys to code signing certificates – to exploit vulnerabilities, compromise systems and disrupt critical infrastructure, leaving even the most advanced businesses dangerously exposed. This research highlights the urgency for security leaders to establish a comprehensive, end-to-end machine identity security strategy that tackles the non-human identities that matter most to prevent potential attacks and outages—especially as AI agents continue to rise and the quantum attack timeline shortens.” To read the full report and access additional findings, please visit https://www.cyberark.com/2025-state-of-machine-identity-security-report/.
factory
13 March 2025
Report Shows Historic Ransomware Activity
manufacturing net
Report Shows Historic Ransomware ActivityTraveler's recently released its Q4 2024 Cyber Threat Report, which showed that ransomware groups impacted more victims in the last quarter of the year than in any quarter ever. The report highlights a shift from mass-scale vulnerability exploits to more targeted, repeatable attack methods. This includes exploiting weak VPN and gateway credentials not protected by multifactor authentication (MFA). Travelers’ researchers attribute this trend to a ransomware training playbook leaked in 2023, which encouraged targeting commonly used VPNs with weak credentials. Additionally, 55 new ransomware groups were identified in 2024—a 67 percent increase from 2023, pointing to a rise in smaller, more agile cybercriminals. The formation of new groups can be attributed to several factors, including law enforcement’s disruption of several well-established Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) platforms like LockBit. Also, an increase in the targeting of IT services and consulting firms was noted. These entities act as intermediaries for other industries, which can amplify the impact of an attack through their connections to multiple clients  “Based on our observations, it’s clear that basic attack techniques are still highly effective for ransomware groups,” said Jason Rebholz, Vice President and Cyber Risk Officer at Travelers. “These groups have been on the offensive, proactively hunting for targets and having significant success. It’s vital that businesses implement proven security controls, such as MFA, to make it far more challenging for malicious actors to carry out an attack on their organization."
factory
13 March 2025
Security Breach: Manufacturing’S Internal Cyber Struggles
manufacturing net
Security Breach: Manufacturing’S Internal Cyber StrugglesThe challenges facing the industrial OT landscape that emanate from external sources are … varied, complex and constantly evolving. Smarter hacking groups, AI-driven phishing schemes and deceptive malware viruses head the list of concerns. And while these factors show no signs of fading, the reality is that there are just as many challenges facing industrial cybersecurity that are embedded within the very foundation of our operations. These legacy dynamics have created internal battles that absorb valuable resources, waste precious talent and help the bad guys stay a step ahead.  With this in mind, we’re going to tap into two key industry leaders to get their take on pressing, internal liabilities that are ensuring key production assets remain exposed. We'll hear from Silverfort’s Rob Larsen, as he discusses the ongoing struggles created by IT/OT silos, as well secure-by-design initiatives.  Mandiant’s Paul Shaver will also offer his take on these silos, and how decisions related to cloud networking are impacting the security stature of key data, assets and network connections. To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].
factory
13 March 2025
Firefighting Rotorcraft Shortfall Prompts Bell’S 214St Reboot
aviation week network factory
Firefighting Rotorcraft Shortfall Prompts Bell’S 214St RebootDALLAS—Bell’s 214ST is set to become the latest legacy helicopter to go back into production to address global shortfalls in rotary-wing firefighting capability. Australia’s McDermott Aviation, which owns the type certificate to the twin-engine, 8-metric-ton helicopter, is planning to produce new-build versions of the rotorcraft. It will be powered by either the General Electric CT7/T700 or Safran’s Aneto turboshaft. McDermott currently owns all 24 of the remaining operational 214STs of the 85 that were built. It has been using them on firefighting contracts, most notably in Greece, where the company had 14 aircraft deployed last year. John McDermott, president of McDermott Aviation, said he was restarting production of the helicopter because other OEMs were offering aircraft that were “historically not suitable” for the aerial firefighting market. “So we said ‘damn it, lets build the 214ST again.’” As part of the development work, McDermott’s engineers have already shaved weight from the aircraft, getting the empty weight down to 4.1 metric tons. The company is also working on increasing maximum gross weight to 8.2 metric tons. Other changes have been to add a new Genesys-developed avionics suite, strip the aircraft of what McDermott called “unreliable” electronics, and lowered the not-to-exceed speed (Vne) to 120 kt. (138 mph). Increased height skidded landing gear allows the aircraft to carry an under fuselage water tank, but the aircraft can also be equipped with an underslung water bucket. In terms of payload, McDermott says the aircraft can carry up to 3,200 liters of water, equivalent to 3.2 metric tons of payload. Among its advantages, McDermott says, is the 214ST’s ability to carry passengers such as firefighters to the scene of a fire. This is a capability that its closest competitor, the military surplus UH-60 Black Hawk, lacks because of the restricted category that prevents passenger carriage. The first new batch of six aircraft could be made available by 2026 and would use existing transmissions and running gear held by McDermott’s company. Sales of those aircraft would then support new production and building afresh. But some elements of the helicopter’s production are complex, with the main rotor mast alone taking two years to produce, McDermott said. These are already being produced from scratch. McDermott also hopes to offer engine options, noting that either the CT7 or the Aneto could be fitted to the aircraft. Some government customers might prefer an aircraft with a European engine over a U.S. engine, given current geopolitics, he said. McDermott’s fleet is currently powered by the CT7-2A. “We have not got any experience of the Aneto, but everyone talks highly of it and we think it is important to provide a choice without complicating things,” McDermott said. The 214ST was a radical growth version of Bell’s Huey family of helicopters. The platform was designed to meet the requirements of the Imperial Iranian Air Force and the program was funded by Tehran. But the Islamic Revolution of 1979 meant that none of the helicopters were ever delivered. With sanctions preventing delivery, many found their way into the commercial market, flying for several offshore operators in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Others ended up in Iraq, where they were targets for coalition bombing in the 1991 Gulf War. The 214ST had been Bell’s largest conventional helicopter until the development of the Bell 525. McDermott’s 214ST joins a growing list of legacy types that are being returned to production. Columbia Helicopters is producing new BV234 Commercial Chinooks, while Erickson is producing new-build S-64 Aircranes from scratch rather than using old CH-54 Tarhe airframe conversions.
factory
13 March 2025