State of Privacy Management in Manufacturing

How Manufacturers Are Embedding Privacy Into Daily Operations

In 2025, manufacturers face a new era of operational complexity, where privacy is no longer a bolt-on task, but a critical component of core strategy. From Industrial IoT and biometric time clocks to AI-powered quality control and global data transfers, today’s connected factories are rich with data and risk.

The 2025 State of Privacy Management in Manufacturing Industry Brief provides timely, data-driven insights into how global manufacturers are responding to this transformation. Based on a global sample of executives, privacy managers, and operational leaders, this report benchmarks sector-specific challenges and reveals how forward-thinking manufacturers are integrating privacy into production, supply chain, and workforce systems.

If you’re leading privacy, security, or compliance in manufacturing, this is your blueprint for proactive, resilient governance.

What You’ll Learn Inside

As factories digitize and regulators catch up, manufacturers are navigating:

• Rising privacy risks from AI, biometric systems, and IIoT telemetry, especially in workforce monitoring, safety systems, and connected equipment
• Expanding regulatory mandates, from the EU AI Act and Cyber Resilience Act to California’s automated decision-making rules and China’s outbound data restrictions
• A critical shift: privacy is now part of product liability, especially when software or AI impacts performance
• But while the regulatory bar rises, the brief reveals a maturity gap, and the sector is at a turning point.

“Privacy is no longer an isolated compliance task but a marker of operational excellence.”