The Future of Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity
The Claroty Team
/July 17th, 2023/
8 min read
Revised date: 8/5/2025
As digital transformation continues to blur the lines between operational technology (OT) and IT, CISOs need to reevaluate their strategies for protecting critical infrastructure. Driving this shift is the extended internet of things (XIoT)—a collection of individual devices connected to the internet that range from insulin pumps and pacemakers to sensors and actuators that control water and power. While this transformation has brought massive benefits, it also introduces new risks.
Much of the critical infrastructure and cyber-physical systems (CPS) that were once airgapped and isolated from cyber threats now have IP addresses, exposing them to new vulnerabilities. Everyone from high-level decision makers in the private sector to senior government officials are beginning to recognize this trend, leaving some organizations scrambling to find efficient means of protection.
In this blog, we’ll discuss why critical infrastructure is so vital, the regulations and standards that have been developed to protect it, and the steps critical infrastructure organizations can take to achieve cyber and operational resilience.
According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) critical infrastructure consists of the assets, systems, and networks that provide functions necessary for sustaining the backbone of society. CISA has identified 16 critical infrastructure sectors that are considered so vital that their incapacitation or destruction would have debilitating consequences on security, the economy, and national public health or safety. Critical infrastructure underpins not only the effective operation of businesses and services, but its resilience and security is necessary for furthering economic growth, investment, and for protecting public safety.
Due to the interconnectivity of CPS in critical environments that orchestrate sensing, computation, control, networking and analytics, an attack on one system could have cascading effects throughout the entire environment. For example, a cyberattack on an electrical grid could potentially also disrupt transportation systems, cause communication failures, or lead to the compromise of medical facilities—all of which could result in the endangerment of public safety and, in the worst-case scenario, cost lives.
The importance of critical infrastructure has also made it a major target for state-sponsored cyberattacks and espionage. By gaining unauthorized access to critical systems, nation-states can attempt to gather intelligence, disrupt operations, or disable infrastructure capabilities which would result in major threats to national security and public safety.
Cybersecurity Attacks on Critical Infrastructure
As threats evolve and cybercriminals become increasingly sophisticated in their methodology, new and highly devastating attacks are emerging. Many of these attacks are carried out by state-sponsored groups or advanced persistent threat (APT) actors. Here are some of the most consequential among them:
1. Norwegian Dam Attack
In April 2025, the control panel of the dam at Lake Risevatnet in Norway was compromised via a weak password. The attacker was able to gain access to the control panel and remain undetected for almost four hours. Thankfully, there was no threat to public safety and the incident was contained.
2. IOCONTROL Cyberweapon
A custom-built piece of malware that’s been used to attack Israel- and U.S.-based OT and internet-of-things (IoT) devices, IOCONTROL is believed to be part of a larger-scale cyber operation against the West. Some of its targets have included D-Link, Red Lion, Unitronics, and others.
3. Texas Water Facility Attack
The notorious Russian hacking collective known as Sandworm is believed to have orchestrated the 2024 attack on a water utility in Muleshoe, Texas. While no service disruptions were reported, the attackers appeared to gain control of the city’s water tanks via human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and used them to turn on the pumps, causing an overflow of water levels.
4. Varta AG Production Plant Attack
German automotive battery manufacturer Varta AG was the target of a significant cyberattack in February 2024 that resulted in five production plants being taken offline for several weeks. While the extent of Varta’s financial losses were unreported, its stock fell 30% as a result of the attack and prolonged downtime of equipment.
Critical Infrastructure Standards & Regulations
As a result of the above attacks and the sensitive nature of industrial controls systems (ICS), governments and regulatory bodies around the world have recognized the need to establish cybersecurity standards and regulations to protect critical infrastructure. Here are some of the most prominent examples to consider:
Following the regulations and standards set for critical infrastructure can help organizations achieve cyber and operational resilience. However, many face difficulty in ensuring compliance as policies and standards can be complex. With the help of the right CPS security provider, organizations can prepare for the future by addressing specific requirements outlined by industry regulations and frameworks. Additionally, the right provider can help organizations ensure they are keeping up with the evolving threat landscape and protecting infrastructure from falling victim to attacks similar to the ones above.
Future-proofing Your Organization’s Cybersecurity Strategy
Here’s a checklist of items to consider when looking for the right provider to assist your organization with an airtight cybersecurity strategy.
1. Maintaining a comprehensive asset inventory:
Claroty provides comprehensive visibility into an organization's entire connected infrastructure, allowing them to identify and catalog their assets. This asset inventory is not only essential for detecting and mitigating risk, but also can be leveraged for compliance reporting purposes.
2. Managing organizational exposure:
To minimize exposures to threats, critical infrastructure organizations should automate the process of identifying vulnerabilities, prioritize them based on risk, and then provide the best course of action for remediation. A clear exposure management strategy helps organizations assess their risk posture while meeting the vulnerability management requirements of many cybersecurity regulations.
3. Delegating secure access:
Remote access is an easily exploited attack vector in many environments. Ideally, organizations should enlist the help of a purpose-built secure access solution for CPS that removes the complexity and administrative barriers for both internal and third-party users, while also meeting the requirements for secure network architecture outlined in several industry regulations.
4. Focusing on threat detection:
Your organization should adopt a solution that features advanced analytics and anomaly detection to identify potential cyber threats and provide real-time alerts. Multiple detection engines in Claroty’s xDome, for example, automatically profile all assets, communications, and processes in industrial networks, generating a behavioral baseline that characterizes legitimate traffic to weed out false positives. These advanced threat detection features enable security practitioners to detect emerging threats and then respond to them promptly, which is also key for compliance with regulations and standards.
The Evolution of Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity
With an evolving threat landscape that continues to do real damage to critical infrastructure and OT environments, it’s all but imperative for CISOs to make the right decisions when it comes to protection. A robust security strategy is still the best defense against new and emerging threats.
Even still, companies aren’t investing enough in protecting OT environments, and many suffer the consequences. Partnering with the right solutions provider can spell the difference between staying secure and dealing with disaster.
With industry-leading network protection, threat detection, and exposure management capabilities, the Claroty Platform is positioned to help the world’s leading critical infrastructure organizations defend against a threat landscape that continues to wreak havoc. The Claroty Platform is purpose-built for CPS and OT environments where IT-centric solutions fall short.
