What happens when a cloud outage leaves your EV uncharged, or brings a production line to a halt? As AI, electrification and connectivity converge, digital failures have physical consequences. For manufacturers, resilience can no longer be an afterthought, it must be designed into products and operations from the outset.
In the age of Artificial Intelligence and our increasing dependence on the digital world, data and device security have never been more important. From the way we interact with the state and live our daily lives, to manufacturing and the provision of services, we are all connected and vulnerable to the disruption of normal service. This is the challenge of the digital age. As electrification and connectivity grow, how can OEMs design dependable products and manufacturing processes that safeguard supply while meeting demand for greater physical product security?
The concept of “resilience by design” is coming into sharp focus as we experience a convergence of AI, digitisation, and electrification, which combined is creating interdependencies in our physical infrastructure. The digital world is now permeating into all aspects of our physical world from food production, manufacturing, energy and storage, transportation, communication, payment systems, and the devices we rely on in our homes and at work.
For OEMs, this means thinking about security and resilience throughout the entire product lifecycle. Products need to be designed to tolerate failure, from the physical hardware, to cloud service availability and lifetime software-support. Manufacturers need to safeguard their own facilities from disruption to normal service. Cyberattacks, power failure, supply chain interruptions, counterfeits and component shortages, can all impact the ability to produce goods.
AI-powered attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, faster and cheaper to deploy. These events are now regular occurrences and test internal systems to breaking point. Some measures to protect against attack are basic but can be overlooked. It is still all too common for bad actors to gain unsolicited access through vulnerable back doors due to a “default” password or legacy operating system on network connected devices. Your smart coffee machine could be your weakest link!
How Vulnerable is your Business to a Single Point of Failure?
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how vulnerable global supply chains can be, and manufacturing locally is not enough to safeguard production. Multi-sourcing components and avoiding unnecessary proprietary dependencies is a good starting point but can only go so far to keep the line running. Stock inventory management and the use of local distribution partners will add a layer of protection, provided robust agreements are in place. It only takes one component shortage to shut a production line down.
Test your digital infrastructure regularly to identify weak links. If your back-end systems are not fully integrated, you could very quickly lose sight of key data points and the ability to operate as normal. An isolated system failure should not impact the whole operation.
Agentic AI with access to physical systems is probably the most significant emerging risk for organisations. An AI chatbot is one thing. An AI agent capable of taking independent action is something very different. Ensure the necessary testing and guardrails are in place before going live.
The Physical and Digital Worlds are Becoming Inseparable
OEMs also need to consider the impact of an internal systems failure on their customers. You do not want “your” IT issue to prevent customers from charging their EV at home. The reputational damage from a widespread failure can be devastating to a brand. Trust is your most valuable asset and takes time to earn but lost in an instant. You will have your accounts independently audited for good reason. Why not your IT infrastructure as well?
As the world goes electric, more of our daily lives will be reliant on electrons. Electricity grids have millions of connected devices from our rooftop solar to EV chargers, heat pumps, and home automation, all connected and controlled via cloud-based apps. Every added connection creates a new opportunity for failure, but also an opportunity to build resilience. The result is that physical device security becomes an integral part of our energy security.
For OEMs the future is not simply about making connected products. It is about making products that are resilient in the face of failure.
Duncan Nicol 2026