Defending Critical Infrastructure in the Age of Internet-Connected Facilities
Fortinet, Tuesday, September 1st, 2026
Fortinet examines recent US water system attacks and why OT impact cannot be measured in records lost.
Recent cyberattacks on American water and wastewater systems highlight why OT security cannot be measured the way IT breaches are, Fortinet argues.
PLCs, HMIs, pumps, valves and treatment systems control physical processes, so disruption reaches public health, environmental safety and community resilience rather than only data.
Water infrastructure also runs on trust -- that water is safe, that HMIs accurately represent physical state, and that remote connections to pump stations and field assets are secure. The post covers reducing exposure, securing remote connectivity and strengthening access controls across distributed OT environments.