By Gavin Sullivan, Manufacturing Expert at e2e-assure
In manufacturing, the stakes of a cyber breach are not theoretical. They are operational, financial, and reputational. With 82% of cyber risk owners in the sector reporting they have experienced an attack, and 76% of employees saying they have been victims themselves, the need for a more adaptive and resilient security model is clear.
A hybrid Security Operations Centre as a service (SOCaaS) offers a practical and strategic response to this challenge. It combines the contextual awareness of internal teams with the scale, expertise, and continuous coverage of a specialist provider. For many manufacturers, this model acts as a lifeline.
What is a Hybrid SOC?
A hybrid-SOC enables you to expand your security team and leverage your existing in-house investments, without the time and additional cost of finding and keeping new resource. A hybrid-SOC is a partially outsourced security service, delivered by a Security Operations Centre (SOC). This SOC is operated by a mix of your in-house team and external security partner.
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Continuous Threat Detection That Reflects Operational Realities
Manufacturing environments operate around the clock. So do cyber attackers. A hybrid SOC ensures that threat detection and response are not limited by office hours or internal capacity. At e2e-assure, our 24/7/365 UK-based SOC analysts work in close coordination with internal teams, providing real-time visibility across cloud and on-premise environments. Unlike traditional ‘follow-the-sun’ models, our UK base ensures the same analysts work on your account, giving them hugely insightful context that makes all the difference in detecting anomalies
In a recent incident involving a semiconductor manufacturer, our service identified covert communications from a nation-state actor embedded in a third-party software patch. We responded immediately, outside of contract, and contained the threat before it could disrupt production.
Additional business outcomes and benefits:
- Cost efficiency: Shared expertise and infrastructure, reducing the need for heavy upfront investment in specialised talent, tooling, and training.
- Strategic Advantage through Proactive Innovation: Demonstrable cyber maturity by supporting certifications (e.g., ISO 27001) and ESG reporting, factors increasingly scrutinised by investors and enterprise customers.
- Reinforces customer trust and contract compliance: By demonstrating robust resilience strategies—key to securing long-term supply chain partnerships.
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Visibility Across Legacy Systems
Manufacturers often rely on legacy systems that cannot support endpoint agents or active scanning. This creates blind spots that traditional SOC models struggle to address. Our hybrid SOC-as-a-service model integrates passive monitoring through NDR, which is invisible to attackers and does not interfere with production.
“44% of manufacturing organisations now rely on outsourced SOC providers, up from 27% last year.” Manufacturing: Rejuvenating Cyber Defences 2024 Report
This shift reflects a growing recognition that legacy infrastructure requires specialist support. Our approach ensures that even the most complex estates benefit from full-spectrum visibility and threat detection.
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Faster, More Informed Response Through Anomaly Detection
Speed is critical in incident response, but so is context. Our hybrid SOCaaS leverages anomaly detection to identify threats that do not match known signatures. In the semiconductor case, we detected irregular authentication attempts and beaconing behaviour before any data was exfiltrated.
This gap between perception and reality underscores the importance of proactive detection and rapid containment. Our analysts validate threats and initiate response protocols within minutes, reducing dwell time and limiting impact.
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Strategic Partnership That Extends Internal Capability
Cyber resilience is not achieved through technology alone. It requires a partnership built on trust, shared goals, and mutual understanding. According to our research, fewer than half of organisations feel they have a strong relationship with their provider; however, over 40% say it is exactly what they want.
“Only 16% of manufacturing employees believe cyber security is a collective responsibility.” Manufacturing Cyber Resilience in 2025 report
This disconnect between leadership and workforce highlights the need for a provider that can bridge the gap. Our hybrid SOC model is designed to act as an extension of your team, not a detached third party. We align with your operational priorities and help embed a culture of shared responsibility.
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A Model That Adapts to Your Environment and Maturity
Manufacturers face unique challenges: high-value intellectual property, complex supply chains, and low tolerance for downtime. A hybrid SOC offers the flexibility to scale services, integrate with existing tools, and evolve with your security maturity.
“Only 24% of manufacturing organisations offer cyber security training to employees.” Manufacturing Cyber Resilience in 2025 report
This lack of internal investment places even greater importance on having a provider that can offer not just detection and response, but also strategic guidance. We help you make the most of your existing investments, close internal knowledge gaps, and build a roadmap to long-term resilience.
To sum it up…
The manufacturing sector is under increasing pressure from both external threats and internal vulnerabilities. A hybrid SOCaaS is not a compromise between in-house and outsourced models. It is a deliberate strategy that combines the best of both.
It provides the visibility, responsiveness, and partnership needed to protect critical operations and build lasting resilience. If your current model is not delivering clarity, precision, and control, it may be time to consider a hybrid approach.
At e2e-assure, we are committed to helping manufacturers navigate this journey with confidence.