Warehouse Cybersecurity: DCS’s Brian Curran on Why Legacy Systems Are a Hidden Risk

MHI Solutions magazine tackled a growing warehouse cybersecurity challenge in its latest issue: the legacy operational technology quietly running inside modern distribution centers. Brian Curran, Vice President of Software at Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS), weighed in on why these systems persist and what it takes to secure them.
Why Legacy Systems Undermine Warehouse Cybersecurity
Curran explained why outdated equipment so often stays in place long after it should be replaced. Many legacy devices remain in production simply because they’re “technically not broken.”
That makes them easy to deprioritize from a warehouse cybersecurity standpoint, he noted, even when vendors have dropped support or known vulnerabilities exist. As Curran put it, these systems stay running “not because they are secure, but because they are stable enough to avoid immediate attention.”
Building Warehouse Cybersecurity In From the Start
Curran emphasized that strong warehouse cybersecurity depends on foundational design principles, not simply layering on more tools after the fact. He pointed to secure authentication, network segmentation, and encrypted communications as the baseline controls every connected warehouse environment needs.
He also argued that cybersecurity should be evaluated as part of a system from day one, not bolted on after deployment. When customers evaluate warehouse execution system (WES) solutions, Curran said, they should assess both capabilities and limitations. This includes examining role-based access, patching practices, secure APIs, and backup and recovery processes. Further, facilities should treat formal certification as an added layer of confidence.
DATUM: A Warehouse Cybersecurity Case Study
Curran pointed to DCS’s own DATUM WES, a SOC 2 Type II-certified platform, as a real-world example of structured warehouse cybersecurity assurance. His guiding principle? “Like quality, security needs to be ‘baked in’ to the software product and throughout the entire software development lifecycle,” he said.
Read the full article, here: mhisolutions-digital.com — The Ghost in Your Warehouse



















