Mitigating Critical Infrastructure Cyberrisk Threats and Securing Operations

In recent months, experts have documented a dramatic uptick in cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, both within the United States and around the world. Driven by a wide range of factors, including political and financial motives, these attacks attempt to disrupt operations and interfere with critical systems that manage access to water and energy. For example, in November, a pro-Iran group hacked a Pennsylvania water utility, breaching some of its industrial assets and forcing the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa (MWAA) to replace all Israeli-made equipment. Shortly thereafter, the UK’s most hazardous nuclear energy site, Sellafield, was also hacked by cyber groups linked to Russia and China. Since then, several other utility companies as well as ports, hospitals and financial service providers throughout the U.S. have also been targeted, representing a pattern of attacks with potentially severe consequences for operations, national security and public welfare.