Supply Chain Cybersecurity Lab

Recent technological developments in warehousing have introduced new risks. This paper presents an integrative review that combines insights from highly automated warehouse systems (HAWS) and risk management, providing a comprehensive understanding of technology-related warehouse disruptions and vulnerabilities. 

We identify 48 technology-related vulnerabilities across different types of disruptions. In particular, HAWS have become vulnerable to cyberattacks due to the increasing number of warehouse technology suppliers, greater complexity of multi-robot networks such as AMRs, reliance on cloud-based systems, and cascading effect of cyberattacks due to higher levels of interconnectivity in HAWS networks. In response, we propose a research agenda with 17 pathways aimed at enhancing prevention, detection, mitigation, and recovery strategies for HAWS. Read the paper.

The rapid adoption of automation and digital technologies in warehousing introduces new risks that could disrupt operations and impact the broader supply chain. Drawing from extensive state-of-the-art research and insights from over 40 warehousing and technology experts, our study identifies five major disruptions that can affect modern, highly automated warehouses: cyberattacks, power and network outages, technology sabotage, technology failures, and accidents caused by human-machine interaction. Read the full report. Read the executive summary.

Supply chain resilience increasingly depends on cybersecurity. As operations become more reliant on connected technologies, automation, and digital systems, cyberattacks can affect far more than data or IT infrastructure: they can interrupt the physical flow of goods. This research examines why cybersecurity must become an integral part of supply chain strategy and how companies can better understand and defend the operational systems on which modern supply chains depend. Read the short article.

The cyberattacks that become publicly visible are only part of a much larger problem. Many of the most consequential events are indirect, beginning with attacks on shared software, cloud, automation, or technology providers and then spreading across companies that depend on them. This research examines how digital concentration and hidden technology dependencies can create systemic supply chain risk, and why companies need to map those dependencies and strengthen their ability to mitigate and recover from cyberattacks. Read the short article.

Cloud services support a growing share of supply chain operations, making cloud dependence a major source of concentration risk. Recent cloud outages demonstrate how disruptions at a single provider can cascade across interconnected systems and how difficult it can be to bring operations back online safely. This research explores how organizations can build resilience around cloud-dependent operations, not by abandoning the cloud, but by preparing for its failure. Read the short article.