AI and the Future of Critical Infrastructure Security

By Doug Cherney, Director of Critical Infrastructure

For decades, electric utilities have operated with a simple but critical mission: keep power flowing safely, reliably, and continuously. While that mission has not changed, the environment in which utilities operate certainly has.

Today’s electric utilities face a rapidly evolving threat landscape that extends far beyond traditional security concerns. Physical sabotage, copper theft, insider threats, drone incursions, cyberattacks, and increasingly sophisticated attempts to disrupt operations are creating new challenges for organizations that power communities, businesses, and critical services.

At the same time, utility operators are managing larger and more complex networks than ever before. Expanding substations, transmission infrastructure, renewable energy assets, and unmanned facilities often span vast geographic areas. Security teams are expected to protect these distributed environments while navigating workforce constraints, regulatory requirements, budget pressures, and growing stakeholder expectations.

The reality is clear: traditional approaches to security are no longer enough.

Critical Infrastructure Security Has Become a Resilience Issue

When security incidents occur within critical infrastructure environments, the consequences extend far beyond the immediate site.

A disruption at a utility facility can impact public safety, emergency services, transportation systems, healthcare operations, communications networks, and local economies. What may begin as a security event can quickly become an operational and community resilience issue.

This is why many utility leaders are shifting their perspective on security. Rather than viewing security solely as a protective function, organizations increasingly recognize it as a critical component of risk management, business continuity, and operational resilience.

The question is no longer whether security systems can detect a threat. The question is how quickly organizations can identify risks, understand potential impacts, and respond before disruptions occur.

The Convergence of Physical and Cyber Risks

One of the most significant changes affecting utilities today is the convergence of physical and cyber security.

Historically, these functions often operated independently. Physical security teams focused on fences, gates, cameras, and access control systems. Cybersecurity teams focused on networks, software, and digital threats. Operations teams managed reliability and performance.

Today’s threat actors do not recognize those organizational boundaries.

An adversary may use cyber reconnaissance to identify vulnerabilities before launching a physical intrusion. Insider threats may leverage both digital access and physical access to sensitive environments. Drone technology can be used to gather intelligence, disrupt operations, or support larger attack plans.

As threats become more interconnected, utility organizations are recognizing the need for greater collaboration between security, cybersecurity, risk management, and operations teams.

Breaking down these silos is becoming essential to maintaining resilience across the enterprise.

The Most Valuable AI Capability: Detecting Weak Signals

Much of the conversation around artificial intelligence focuses on automation, analytics, and operational efficiency. While those capabilities are important, one of the most valuable applications of AI for utility security may be its ability to identify weak signals before they become major incidents.

Utilities generate enormous amounts of data every day across physical security systems, operational technology environments, cybersecurity platforms, access control systems, surveillance networks, and external intelligence sources. The challenge is not collecting data. The challenge is identifying meaningful patterns hidden within it.

AI-powered intelligence platforms can continuously analyze these diverse data streams and identify relationships that may be impossible for human operators to recognize in real time.

A single drone sighting near a substation may not appear significant. Neither might unusual network scanning activity, suspicious online discussions, or subtle changes in employee behavior. However, when these events occur together, they may indicate reconnaissance activity or early-stage attack planning.

By correlating seemingly unrelated events, AI provides security teams with earlier visibility into emerging threats, allowing organizations to investigate risks before they escalate into operational disruptions.

This capability is helping utilities move beyond reactive security and toward intelligence-driven risk management.

Enhancing Safety and Operational Efficiency

The value of AI extends beyond security.

Utility operators are increasingly leveraging intelligent monitoring technologies to support employee safety, operational awareness, and resource allocation. AI-driven insights can help identify risks before personnel are dispatched to a site, provide better situational awareness during incidents, and improve coordination between security and operations teams.

For organizations managing hundreds or even thousands of distributed assets, these capabilities can significantly improve operational efficiency while reducing risk exposure.

Perhaps most importantly, AI allows organizations to extend the effectiveness of existing security personnel without requiring proportional increases in staffing.

Building a Smarter Roadmap for the Future

Despite its potential, successful AI adoption requires a thoughtful strategy.

The most effective organizations are focusing on specific operational challenges where AI can provide measurable outcomes rather than implementing technology simply because it is available. They are evaluating how AI supports regulatory compliance, employee safety, operational continuity, and enterprise risk reduction.

The goal is not to replace human decision-making. The goal is to provide better intelligence, faster visibility, and stronger situational awareness so people can make more informed decisions.

The future of grid security will not be built on technology alone, it will be driven by the combination of AI-powered intelligence and experienced security professionals working together to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure.