Recently, CISA confirmed hackers had targeted over 100 internet-exposed water and wastewater systems in a single month. This is the first time the federal government put a hard number on a single wave of water-sector intrusions.
Government agencies at every level — federal, state and local — rely on Operational Technology (OT) systems that predate modern cybersecurity considerations. These systems control water treatment, power distribution, traffic management, building automation and public safety infrastructure. They run on proprietary protocols, often can’t be patched without taking systems offline or replacing entire units and are increasingly connected to IT networks and the internet. And, with AI increasing the scale and scope of attacks, the attack surface is expanding faster than most agencies can even inventory.
This webinar addresses critical questions about the present and future of OT, including:
- Why government OT environments are particularly vulnerable
- What the real-world threat landscape looks like today
- Why traditional IT security approaches fail in OT
- What the path forward looks like
Attendees will leave with a practical framework for assessing their OT risk posture, a clear understanding of the regulatory landscape and actionable next steps they can take regardless of where they are in their OT security maturity.
Key Takeaways:
- Why 100+ water systems were compromised in a single month and what it means for your agency
- The five structural reasons government OT is harder to secure than IT
- How to align OT security investments with NIST CSF 2.0, NIST 800-82 and CISA BOD 26-02
- Practical steps to gain visibility into OT/IoT assets you don’t know you have
- How to build an OT security program that keeps operations running while closing gaps
