Cyberattacks on the environmental sector are on the rise, with the potential for severe consequences such as water contamination, disruptions to the energy grid, and widespread ecological harm. Recent data highlights the growing scale and impact of these threats:
- In 2024, cybersecurity ranked among the top five external risks to manufacturers for the first time.
- That same year, American Water Works Company suffered a major cyberattack that disrupted its customer billing systems.
- According to CISA, the U.S. has over 153,000 public drinking water infrastructure systems, serving 80% of the population—making them a critical target for threat actors.
- Ransomware attacks on industrial control systems doubled in 2024, alongside a 31% increase in disclosed vulnerabilities and a 20% rise in active exploitations.
As digital threats escalate, cybersecurity is becoming a central concern for the sustainability and resilience of environmental infrastructure.
