60% of critical infrastructure hit by significant cyber incidents
New findings from a major security report show that a substantial share of organizations deemed critical to daily life suffered significant cyber incidents in the past year. The data come from a survey of security leaders in sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, energy, transportation, and government across 11 countries. The results point to gaps in monitoring, aging technology, and challenges integrating operational technology (OT) with information technology (IT).
What changed for critical infrastructure security
The report indicates that about 60% of critical infrastructure organizations experienced a significant cybersecurity incident in the last year. It also notes that most organizations lack full, real-time visibility into all assets connected to their OT networks, and that a sizable portion of OT assets are unmanaged or hard to monitor. This compounds risk when new threats emerge or when systems are not updated.
Key facts from the findings
- Approximately 60% of organizations reported a significant security incident in the past year.
- Nearly two-thirds (about 68%) do not have complete, real-time visibility into all OT-connected assets.
- About 23% of OT assets are unmanaged or difficult to monitor on average.
- Legacy, unpatched OT assets are viewed as the biggest cybersecurity risk by 42% of respondents.
- Among those with incidents, about half reported safety concerns, and substantial shares cited downtime, production disruption, and financial losses.
Who is affected and why it matters
Industries most cited include manufacturing, healthcare and life sciences, energy and utilities, transportation, and government/public sector. The combination of aging technology, siloed IT/OT systems, and gaps in asset monitoring increases exposure to breaches and disruptions that can affect safety, operations, and finances.
Practical next steps for organizations
- Improve asset discovery: aim for real-time visibility across all OT and IT assets to reduce blind spots.
- Prioritize legacy/untouched assets: identify and or replace high-risk equipment that cannot be patched or updated.
- Strengthen IT/OT integration: ensure coordination between IT security teams and OT engineers to align protection and monitoring.
- Prepare for safety and downtime risks: incorporate safety protocols and business continuity planning into cybersecurity efforts.
- Adopt phased monitoring: implement scalable, vendor-agnostic monitoring to gradually cover more assets without overwhelming teams.
Limits of the data and questions to ask
The report summarizes survey responses from over 1,600 security leaders across 11 countries, focusing on perceived risks and incidents. It does not disclose specific organization names or exact breach dates. Readers may want to ask: How current is the asset inventory? Are there fixed plans to replace or patch ageing equipment? How is OT/IT data shared with leadership for risk decisions?
Which sources did Setup in Bahrain review?
Setup in Bahrain reviewed the following source material before preparing this explanatory article.
The links remain visible so readers can inspect the evidence, compare dates and context, and confirm current requirements with the relevant authority.
- itnerd.blog — evidence source reviewed for this article.
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