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.
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
Typical vs Recommended
Compliance Exposure
North American grid security standards. Legacy systems struggle with electronic security perimeter and access management requirements.
Energy classified as essential entity. Mandatory incident reporting and security measures. Legacy systems create compliance gaps.
Post-Colonial Pipeline. Cybersecurity requirements for pipeline operators. Legacy SCADA systems often non-compliant.
Cybersecurity requirements for water utilities. Many systems predate any security framework.
