We’re proud to share that Scott Bly, our Director of Security Technologies, was recently featured on ABC7 News, sitting down with anchor Nancy Chen to discuss one of the most pressing cybersecurity issues facing critical infrastructure today: AI-powered cyberattacks on America’s water systems.
Being invited to provide subject matter expertise on a trusted news program like ABC7 is a reflection of the deep, hands-on knowledge our team brings to securing the nation’s most vital infrastructure — and we welcomed the opportunity to help the public understand what’s really happening behind the headlines.
The Story Behind the Segment
In July alone, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recorded more than 100 targeted cyberattacks on water and wastewater systems nationwide, with reported incidents in Michigan, New Jersey, and Minnesota. As concern grew, ABC7 turned to SIS Cyber for clarity and context — and Scott delivered exactly that.
Setting the Record Straight
Scott’s first message to viewers: don’t panic. As he explained on-air, none of these incidents resulted in contaminated water or any real impact on the public’s access to clean, safe drinking water. Large city systems — like San Francisco and San Jose — are well-defended, backed by strong budgets, dedicated teams, and the resources needed to properly secure their infrastructure.
The real exposure, Scott noted, lies with small municipal water systems — often serving just a few hundred to a couple thousand residents, and sometimes operated by as few as three staff members with no dedicated cybersecurity expertise.
Why This Matters — Even When Impact Is Local
One of the most insightful moments of the interview came when Scott addressed a question many viewers were likely asking: why would a bad actor bother targeting a tiny water utility? His answer highlighted something SIS Cyber talks about often with clients — the strategic value of publicity itself. A successful attack that makes the news is a “PR win” for adversaries, even when the actual technical impact is limited to a small, disconnected system.
With roughly 40,000 separate water systems across the U.S., Scott explained that these networks aren’t interconnected the way the power grid is — meaning an incident at one utility doesn’t cascade into a nationwide crisis. But he was clear-eyed about the real risk: these attacks are designed to unsettle communities, even when manual backup systems (which performed exactly as intended in every recent incident) keep the water flowing.
Bringing Clarity to the AI Conversation
As a security technology firm on the front lines of this shift, we found it especially valuable for Scott to unpack how AI is actually changing the threat landscape. Contrary to popular belief, AI isn’t primarily being used to scan the internet for vulnerable targets — that capability has existed for years.
Instead, AI is accelerating attackers’ timelines. Just as AI helps professionals move faster on everyday tasks, it’s enabling bad actors to generate malicious code in a fraction of the time it once took. Where an attacker might have once needed a year to learn how to compromise an industrial control system, Scott explained they can now do it in an afternoon.
Advocating for Practical Solutions
True to SIS Cyber’s mission of making security accessible, Scott used his platform to offer something actionable for viewers — not just an assessment of the problem. He pointed out that the core issue for small municipalities is financial: security upgrades aren’t prohibitively expensive, but for tiny local budgets, even modest costs require difficult trade-offs.
His advice to the public was simple and empowering: when a local water rate increase includes funding for network security, vote for it. It’s a small, direct way residents can help protect their own community’s infrastructure.
Proud to Serve as a Trusted Voice
Moments like this reinforce why we do what we do. Being asked to appear on ABC7 News to help explain a complex, evolving threat to the public is exactly the kind of subject matter leadership SIS Cyber strives to provide — not just for our clients, but for the communities relying on secure, resilient infrastructure every day.
We’re grateful to ABC7 and Nancy Chen for the opportunity, and we’ll continue showing up wherever we can help provide clarity.
