Podcast: Industrial Cybersecurity Insider
Episode: The Silver Tsunami: Manufacturing's Talent and Knowledge Retirement Crisis
Pub date: 2025-11-18

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In this milestone 100th episode, Craig and Dino tackle the critical intersection of workforce retirement and industrial cybersecurity knowledge in manufacturing.

They explore how 82% of manufacturing workforce exits are due to retirement, creating a dangerous knowledge vacuum as decades of plant expertise walk out the door.

The conversation reveals why traditional IT security tools consistently miss 50-70% of OT assets, the problematic practice of buying equipment that's obsolete before installation, and why plant operators bypass corporate security policies when downtime costs a million dollars per day.

Craig and Dino state that the solution isn't just better tools, it's bridging the gap between centralized IT teams and the decentralized OT ecosystem by partnering with the system integrators and OEMs who actually keep plants running.

They discuss how manufacturers must choose between multi-million dollar capital investments in modern equipment or implementing proper network segmentation and security around legacy systems.

They address the reasons why the next generation of talent won't be attracted to facilities running decades-old technology.Chapters:

• (00:00:00) - Introduction and Industry Growth Update
• (00:02:15) - The Silver Tsunami: 82% of Manufacturing Exits Are Retirements
• (00:05:42) - Why IT Security Tools Miss 50-70% of OT Assets
• (00:09:18) - The Knowledge Vacuum: What Happens When Experience Walks Out
• (00:13:05) - Why Plant Operators Bypass Corporate Security Policies
• (00:16:30) - The Problem with Buying Obsolete Equipment
• (00:19:45) - Centralized IT vs Decentralized OT: Bridging the Gap
• (00:23:20) - Building Partnerships with System Integrators and OEMs
• (00:26:50) - Capital Investment vs Network Segmentation Strategy
• (00:29:35) - Attracting Next-Gen Talent to Manufacturing Environments

Links And Resources:

• Want to Sponsor an episode or be a Guest? Reach out here.
• Industrial Cybersecurity Insider on LinkedIn
• Cybersecurity & Digital Safety on LinkedIn
• BW Design Group Cybersecurity
• Dino Busalachi on LinkedIn
• Craig Duckworth on LinkedIn

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