Energy & Utilities

Critical Infrastructure on Aging Foundations

Power grids, water treatment, and utility operations managed by systems designed before cybersecurity was a discipline. National infrastructure at stake.

Key data points

Utility SCADA systems over 20 years old

Control systems managing power distribution, water treatment, gas pipelines.

~50%

Energy sector cyberattacks (2025)

Targeting operational technology. Up 300% since 2020.

1,100+

Grid modernization investment needed

Global estimate to modernize aging electrical infrastructure by 2035.

$2.5 trillion

Utility IT/OT systems with no encryption

Legacy protocols (Modbus, DNP3) transmit in plaintext. Designed for reliability, not security.

~40%

Renewable integration blocked by legacy

Smart grid capabilities constrained by legacy distribution management systems.

~35%

Risk factors

What keeps Energy & Utilities CISOs awake

●

Power grid control systems on decades-old SCADA with proprietary protocols and no authentication

●

Water treatment PLCs running on Windows CE and XP — unpatched, managing public safety infrastructure

●

Gas pipeline monitoring through legacy telemetry systems with no encryption

●

Smart meter data flowing through legacy billing systems incapable of real-time processing

●

Renewable energy integration hampered by distribution management systems from the 1990s

Stack comparison

Typical vs Recommended

Typical Energy & Utilities stack

COBOL 8

.NET Framework (4.x) 39

Oracle Database 40

SQL Server 52

Java 8 31

Recommended modern stack

Python 3 85

PostgreSQL 81

Kubernetes 71

FastAPI 80

React 73

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Regulatory landscape

Compliance Exposure

NERC CIP

North American grid security standards. Legacy systems struggle with electronic security perimeter and access management requirements.

NIS2 (EU)

Energy classified as essential entity. Mandatory incident reporting and security measures. Legacy systems create compliance gaps.

TSA Pipeline Security Directives

Post-Colonial Pipeline. Cybersecurity requirements for pipeline operators. Legacy SCADA systems often non-compliant.

EPA Water Security

Cybersecurity requirements for water utilities. Many systems predate any security framework.

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