Security News

Free Cyber Defences Offered to 500 Small US Utilities in $10 Million Industry Initiative

The Record · 22 Oct 2026

Key Takeaway Small organisations should know exactly which devices are on their networks and make sure staff are trained to use their security tools, because technology alone is not enough.

Accenture, cybersecurity firm Dragos and the SANS Institute training organisation have announced the Community Cyber Resilience Foundation, backed by $10 million of their own investment. Up to 500 under-resourced utilities will receive free software, hardware, deployment services and training focused on operational technology, the systems that run physical infrastructure.

The program is open to US-based water, wastewater, electric and natural gas utilities with annual revenue under $100 million, which the companies say covers 97% of utilities. Dragos will supply tools that show organisations which devices are on their network and how to address vulnerabilities. Accenture will help deploy and configure them, and provide ongoing support. The SANS Institute will train staff, and members will be able to share best practices and operational experience with one another.

The launch follows breaches of more than 100 water utilities across the US, while government agencies continue to warn of Chinese and Russian cyberattacks on energy utilities, telecoms and more. Dragos CEO Robert Lee said criminals and nation-states are aggressively targeting utilities. SANS CEO James Lyne said even the best technology will not protect a utility if staff cannot use it. The first phase covers 500 utilities and may expand depending on its success.

critical infrastructure utilities operational technology security training Dragos

Summarised by CISO AI from The Record, written with Claude Sonnet 5.5. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.