For manufacturers across the Pacific Northwest, cyber risk has become a business risk. A cyber incident can reach far beyond an organization’s computers, potentially affecting production, supply chains, intellectual property, customer relationships, and day-to-day operations.

As manufacturers throughout Oregon, Washington, and the greater Northwest adopt more connected equipment, automated processes, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence (AI), the opportunities for innovation continue to grow. But increased connectivity also creates new risks that manufacturers need to understand.

At Elliott, Powell, Baden & Baker Insurance (EPB&B), we have worked with manufacturers for more than 70 years, from local and subcontract manufacturers to multinational organizations. As a Portland-based independent insurance agency serving businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest, we help manufacturers evaluate changing risks and build insurance programs around their operations.

Today, that conversation increasingly includes cyber risk.

Cybersecurity Is About More Than Protecting Data

When businesses hear “cyberattack,” they often think first about stolen customer information or compromised computer systems. For manufacturers, the potential consequences can be much broader.

Modern manufacturing operations often depend on interconnected technology. Production equipment, inventory systems, vendors, employees, customers, and business systems may all depend on digital connections.

That means a cyber incident has the potential to become an operational disruption.

A manufacturer may need to consider risks involving:

• Production downtime
• Ransomware and cyber extortion
• Intellectual property
• Customer and employee information
• Supply chain dependencies
• Fraud and social engineering
• Customer and vendor relationships

The specific risks vary considerably from one manufacturer to another, which is why understanding your organization’s individual exposures is an important part of cyber risk planning.

What Happens After a Breach?

One of the most important questions for any business is also one of the hardest to answer:

What would we actually do if we discovered a cyberattack tomorrow?

During a cyber incident, decisions may need to be made quickly. Business leaders may suddenly be coordinating with IT professionals, legal counsel, insurance representatives, forensic investigators, customers, vendors, and other parties.

For a manufacturer, there may also be an immediate question about whether production can continue.

This is why cyber risk management needs to consider more than preventing an attack. Businesses should also think about their ability to respond and recover.

A well-prepared organization understands its critical systems and has a plan for what happens when normal operations are interrupted.

Where Does Cyber Insurance Fit?

Cyber insurance can be an important part of a broader risk management strategy.

Depending on the policy, cyber insurance may provide financial protection and access to specialized resources following a covered cyber event. Coverage can address areas such as incident response, data recovery, legal expenses, cyber extortion, and business interruption.

But cyber policies are not all the same.

Coverage terms, exclusions, limits, security requirements, and available response resources can vary significantly between insurance companies. For manufacturers with complex operations, evaluating a cyber policy requires looking beyond the premium.

At EPB&B, we work with Pacific Northwest manufacturers to understand their operations and evaluate insurance options from multiple markets. The goal is to help businesses understand where insurance fits within their broader approach to managing cyber risk.

Preparation Matters Before an Incident Happens

No cybersecurity program can eliminate every threat.

Technology changes. Businesses change. Cybercriminals change their tactics.

That makes cyber risk management an ongoing process rather than a one-time insurance decision.

As manufacturers add new technology, expand operations, adopt AI, change vendors, or become more digitally connected, their cyber exposures may change as well. Periodically reviewing both cybersecurity practices and insurance coverage can help businesses identify areas that deserve additional attention.

And when an incident does occur, preparation can make a significant difference in how an organization responds.

Exactly what that preparation should look like—and what businesses can learn from companies that have already experienced major cyber incidents—is a much deeper conversation.

Go Behind the Breach at NEDME 2026

On September 23, 2026, Pacific Northwest manufacturers and technology leaders will have an opportunity to take that conversation further at the Northwest Electronics Design & Manufacturing Expo (NEDME).

Justine Avera of Elliott, Powell, Baden & Baker Insurance will present:

Before and After the Breach – Risk Engineering with Cyber Security Insurance

Rather than discussing cyber risk only in theory, Justine will use real-world breach case studies to examine what happens when an organization is actually attacked, from the initial compromise through response and recovery.

She’ll explore the decisions businesses face, where preparation can make a difference, and how cybersecurity planning and cyber insurance can work together when the unexpected happens.

With AI and interconnected technology rapidly changing both manufacturing and the cyber threat landscape, these are conversations Northwest businesses increasingly need to have.