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INDUSTRY FACT FILE · METALS, MINING & CEMENT
Market Landscape and the Drivers of Cybersecurity Demand in Metals, Mining and Cement
The business, technology, regulatory, legal, statutory and buyer forces that create cybersecurity, audit and assurance work for mining groups, metal producers, smelters, foundries and cement manufacturers.
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In this document 1. Market landscape 2. Business drivers 3. Technology drivers 4. Regulatory drivers: CERT-In, NCIIPC, SEBI, DPDP, mining statutes and export rules 5. Legal and statutory drivers 6. How the drivers differ by producer type 7. What this means for buyers and for Codec Networks |
1. Market landscape
India's metals, mining and cement sector is large, capital-intensive and consolidating. Public-sector undertakings dominate coal, iron ore and part of steel and aluminium; a handful of listed private groups lead steel, aluminium, zinc and cement, adding capacity through greenfield plants and acquisitions; commercial coal and mineral auctions are bringing private operators and MDOs into mining; and a long tail of foundries, secondary producers and grinding units serves regional markets. Government policy—the National Steel Policy's 300-million-tonne target, the ₹6,322 crore specialty steel PLI, more than a dozen rounds of commercial coal auctions and the ₹34,300 crore National Critical Mineral Mission—means more mines, more plants and more connected operations.
Cybersecurity demand follows that growth. Producers run continuous processes that cannot stop safely, dispatch and statutory data that must be trustworthy, and remote sites that are hard to monitor. Listed companies must disclose incidents, CERT-In expects independent audits that include OT, NCIIPC can notify public-sector systems, lenders and insurers ask for control evidence, and EU buyers now depend on verified emissions data under CBAM. Spending is shifting from basic IT security to industrial assessments, remote operations protection, dispatch integrity, contractor risk and monitoring that reaches every plant and mine.
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₹34,300 cr National Critical Mineral Mission outlay over seven years |
~125 Coal mines auctioned commercially across eleven rounds since 2020 |
Jan 2026 EU CBAM definitive period began for steel, aluminium and cement |
May 2027 Most DPDP obligations take effect |
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Market segment |
Landscape and buying behaviour |
Cybersecurity opportunity |
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Public-sector coal, mineral and steel undertakings |
Very large, multi-site estates, formal Boards and audit committees, NCIIPC and government security expectations |
Programme-level OT security, CII-aligned audits, SOC, threat hunting |
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Listed private steel, aluminium, zinc and cement groups |
Growing capacity, group ERP, SEBI disclosure, lender, insurer and EU buyer scrutiny |
IEC 62443 assessments, segmentation, ERP and dispatch testing, Board reporting |
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Commercial mine operators and MDOs |
New entrants running mines for owners under contracts, lean security teams |
Remote-ops and fleet assessment, contractor assurance, managed SOC |
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Foundries, secondary producers and grinding units |
Single sites, outsourced IT, dependence on a few customers |
Baseline assessment, backups, payment controls, questionnaire support |
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Captive power, logistics and port units |
Utility and transport systems embedded in producer groups |
Utility OT assessment, partner integration reviews |
2. Business drivers
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Business driver |
Buying trigger |
Relevant services |
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Production continuity |
A ransomware incident or dispatch outage stops revenue within hours |
Ransomware resilience, segmentation, dispatch recovery |
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Worker and asset safety |
Cyber incidents can affect safety systems, fleets and furnaces |
Safety system integrity reviews, OT monitoring |
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Dispatch and royalty integrity |
Manipulated weights or permits create revenue loss and statutory exposure |
Dispatch system testing, integrity logging, analytics |
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Lender, insurer and buyer confidence |
Financiers, insurers and EU buyers ask for control and data evidence |
Control validation, ISO 27001, IEC 62443, evidence packs |
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Board accountability and disclosure |
Listed companies disclose incidents; Boards own risk management |
Board advisory, incident records, audit programmes |
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Contractor and MDO dependence |
Third parties operate mines, plants and fleets |
Supply chain cyber risk programmes, contract clauses |
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Fraud and financial loss |
BEC and payment diversion target procurement-heavy finance teams |
Payment controls, BEC simulation, SOC |
3. Technology drivers
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Technology driver |
Exposure created |
Codec Networks opportunity |
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DCS, PLCs and furnace or kiln automation |
Unauthenticated protocols, legacy operating systems, flat networks |
IEC 62443 assessments, segmentation, OT monitoring |
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Remote operations centres and autonomy |
Centralised control of fleets and drills over site links |
Remote-ops architecture review, fleet system testing |
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ERP, dispatch and weighbridge integration |
Business and statutory processes stop when ERP or dispatch stops |
ERP and dispatch security, backup validation, integrity controls |
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OEM, MDO and contractor remote access |
Standing vendor tunnels and shared accounts |
Remote access brokering, vendor assessments |
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IIoT, drones and condition monitoring |
Internet-connected sensors and gateways at remote sites |
IIoT security assessment, DMZ design |
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Cloud ERP, e-auction and trading platforms |
Group systems and market platforms in the cloud |
Cloud posture, identity and API testing |
Figure 3: The four groups of drivers behind cybersecurity spending in metals, mining and cement.
4. Regulatory drivers: CERT-In, NCIIPC, SEBI, DPDP, mining statutes and export rules
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Instrument |
Key requirements |
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CERT-In Directions (2022) |
Six-hour incident reporting; 180-day ICT logs in India; applies to bodies corporate including producers and their service providers |
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CERT-In audit policy guidelines (July 2025) |
Risk-based, independent cyber audits covering IT and OT/ICS, with closure of findings |
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NCIIPC (IT Act Section 70A) |
Protection of notified protected systems; strategic and public enterprises are a recognised critical sector |
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SEBI LODR Regulations (listed companies) |
Quarterly disclosure of cyber incidents in the corporate governance report; Board oversight of risk |
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DPDP Act 2023 and Rules 2025 |
Employee, contractor, dealer and visitor data safeguards; most obligations from May 2027 |
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MMDR Act, OSH Code and state mining rules |
Leases, auctions and critical minerals under the MMDR Act as amended in 2023 and 2025; mine safety under the OSH Code administered by DGMS; mining plans through the IBM Mining Tenement System; state e-permit and e-transit systems |
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EU CBAM |
Definitive period from 1 January 2026 for steel, aluminium and cement; certificate sales from February 2027; importers rely on verified embedded-emissions data from producers |
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Confirm applicability Obligations depend on ownership, listing status, leases, minerals, states and export markets, and on any NCIIPC notifications. Confirm against the official instruments and your contracts. |
Figure 4: Regulatory and policy timeline shaping metals, mining and cement cybersecurity, as of October 2026.
5. Legal and statutory drivers
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Law or obligation |
Relevance |
Demand created |
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IT Act, 2000 and CERT-In Directions |
Incident reporting, logging and protected systems |
SOC, logging, audits and incident response |
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Companies Act, 2013 |
Board responsibility for risk management and internal controls |
Board risk reporting, audit programmes |
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SEBI LODR Regulations |
Quarterly cyber incident disclosure for listed entities |
Incident records and disclosure support |
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DPDP Act, 2023 and Rules, 2025 |
Personal data of employees, contractors, dealers and visitors |
Privacy programmes and breach workflows |
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MMDR Act, 1957 and amendments |
Leases, auctions, royalties, critical minerals and statutory returns |
Integrity of dispatch, permit and returns data |
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OSH Code, 2020 and mines regulations |
Mine safety, records and DGMS oversight, which cyber incidents can affect |
Safety system and records protection |
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Buyer, lender and export contracts |
Security clauses, CBAM data, insurer warranties |
Independent testing, certifications, evidence packs |
6. How the drivers differ by producer type
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Producer type |
Dominant business drivers |
Dominant technology drivers |
Principal regulatory drivers |
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Coal and mineral PSUs |
Continuity, national supply, disclosure |
Fleet systems, dispatch, e-auctions |
CERT-In, NCIIPC where notified, MMDR |
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Listed steel and non-ferrous groups |
Lender and buyer trust, exports |
Multi-plant DCS, captive power, group ERP |
CERT-In, SEBI LODR, CBAM |
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Commercial miners and MDOs |
Contract performance, growth |
Remote operations, fleets, owner integrations |
CERT-In, MMDR, owner contracts |
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Cement groups |
Dispatch across plants and depots |
Kiln DCS, dispatch, dealer portals |
CERT-In, SEBI LODR, CPCB reporting |
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Foundries and secondary producers |
Keeping customer contracts |
Furnace controls, outsourced IT |
CERT-In, customer questionnaires |
7. What this means for buyers and for Codec Networks
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Customer buying need |
Recommended offering |
Natural recurring engagement |
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“Would ransomware stop our dispatch and our plants?” |
Ransomware resilience review: dependency mapping, segmentation, backups, playbooks |
Annual resilience testing and exercises |
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“Who can reach our DCS, fleet and remote operations from outside?” |
Remote access and segmentation review across sites |
Vendor and contractor access recertification |
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“Could weights, permits or emissions data be altered?” |
Dispatch and compliance data integrity assessment |
Continuous analytics and periodic retesting |
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“Our lender or EU buyer wants security and data evidence.” |
ISO 27001 / IEC 62443 gap assessment and evidence pack |
Annual recertification support |
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“We need 24x7 monitoring that reaches every mine and plant.” |
IT/OT SOC with site coverage |
Continuous monitoring |
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“We need an independent cyber audit including OT.” |
CERT-In-aligned IT/OT audit |
Annual audits |
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“Our MDO and contractors run half our operations.” |
Supply chain cyber risk programme |
Per-contractor assessments and renewals |
Talk to Codec Networks
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Contact Codec Networks Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi: 507, 5th Floor, New Delhi House, Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001 Gurugram: 707, 7th Floor, Silverton Tower, Golf Course Extension Road, Sector 50, Gurugram – 122018, Haryana Landline: 011 430 496 96 | 011 437 522 99 Mobile: +91 99716 76124 | +91 88007 88220 | +91 88003 31124 Email: mktg@codecnetworks.com Web: www.codecnetworks.com |
Note: This document is general industry guidance based on public information available as of October 2026. It is not legal, safety or regulatory advice. Obligations differ by company size, ownership, listing status, leases, licences and export markets; confirm them against the official CERT-In, MeitY, SEBI, NCIIPC, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Coal, DGMS and EU instruments and your contracts.