Infrastructure Protection Requires Integrated IT and OT Security For years, many organizations attempted to air gap critical systems by keeping them disconnected from broader networks. In practice, however, most operational environments eventually became connected because organizations wanted access to data for operational efficiency, analytics and business decision-making. That connectivity created new opportunities, but it also introduced new attack surfaces. CI Fortify is a useful reminder for agencies to revisit the technology decisions they have made around critical infrastructure. That does not necessarily mean disconnecting systems entirely. It means taking a thoughtful approach to segmentation, resilience and operational continuity. Agencies should evaluate which functions are truly mission-critical, what can operate manually during an outage and how systems can be isolated if necessary. Preparedness also requires agencies to think differently about risk. In cybersecurity, organizations often focus heavily on prevention, but critical infrastructure resilience also depends on understanding impact and velocity. If a disruption occurs, how severe would the consequences be? How quickly could the situation escalate? Would agencies have minutes to respond, or weeks? Those questions matter because attacks against critical infrastructure are fundamentally different from traditional cybercrime. In some cases, the objective may not be to steal information or collect ransom payments. The objective may be to create confusion, panic or operational disruption. We have already seen examples globally of cyberattacks targeting infrastructure systems in ways that caused lasting operational damage. In some incidents, attackers did not simply disable systems temporarily. They rendered devices unusable, forcing organizations to replace physical equipment and navigate difficult supply chain challenges. That kind of disruption changes the entire response model. READ MORE: Government IT teams now own many physical security responsibilities. Infrastructure Resilience Depends on Planning Beyond Technology State and local governments are not just responsible for restoring technology services. They also have to