We headed to IPC Apex Expo in late January not certain of what to expect. The backdrop, of course, was one of job upheaval. Blue chip tech companies were announcing large-scale layoffs, and the “disengagement” counts were starting to accumulate in striking fashion. To wit:

• HP: 4,000 to 6,000
• Dell: 6,650
• Google: 12,000
• IBM: 3,900
• Meta: 11,000
• Microsoft: 10,000
• Twitter: Everyone except Elon Musk and a couple of engineers brought over from Tesla*

For many manufacturers and suppliers, Covid-19 is only the second-most feared pandemic. The ongoing threat of having internal systems hijacked and held for ransom – colloquially known as a ransomware attack – will surely outlive the specter of the virus shutting down a facility.

We know of a few instances where this has occurred in the printed circuit industry. A few years ago, a publicly traded board fabricator saw almost all its sites in North America hit, with the hijacked sites taken offline for a few days to a few weeks. Sales and deliveries were affected. In late 2020, Foxconn, the big daddy of the electronics industry, suffered a ransomware attack at its plant in Juarez, Mexico, where attackers stole some files, deleted others, and encrypted the manufacturer's servers. The hackers sought a reported $34 million to release the data. Compal, another top 10 EMS/ODM, was also hit. In all likelihood, it's happened more often than has been publicized.

Still, efforts to immunize the US defense supply chain and others against these hacks has been met with mixed reviews. One primary reason: cost. Bringing systems up to date and maintaining them over the long haul requires highly trained engineers who can cost $100,000 or more per year while not adding to the bottom line.