Attackers Probe Critical Infrastructure for Low-Cost Entry

CS4CA USA Summit Speaker Daryl Haegley on Zero Trust and OT Visibility Tony Morbin (@tonymorbin) • March 9, 2026

Critical infrastructure networks are under constant pressure from state adversaries probing for weaknesses across energy, water, pipeline and industrial control systems. Cyber operations have become a low-cost entry point for attackers seeking to disrupt systems that underpin military and civilian operations alike, said Daryl Haegley, technical director of control systems cyber resiliency for the U.S. Air Force.

See Also: Analysis: State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity

In advance of the CS4CA USA Summit March 10-11 in Houston, Haegley pointed out that critical infrastructure providers are "under incessant attack from this new warfare area - cyber. It is a low cost entry for adversaries to kind of probe and get into these networks and see where there are vulnerabilities."

Drawing on military defense strategies, Haegley said identifying mission-critical functions, enforcing strict separation between ...