Water Sector Under Attack:  Defending our Drinking Water

On July 20, 2026, CISA issued an alert that malicious actors were actively targeting Water and Wastewater systems. The alert coincided with media reports that active attacks against water treatment utilities had been detected and responded to in several U.S. states. Fortunately, the attacks were stymied before any people were harmed. The news is unsettling and requires urgent and sustained effort to ensure cybersecurity defenses for the water sector are rock-solid.

As we go about our daily lives, we take basic things for granted. We turn on the tap, we fill up a glass of water and we drink it with barely a second thought. We know it's safe to drink because people in the water and wastewater industry are doing the hard work for us. We don't need to know about pH or chlorine levels or backflow prevention, we only need to know how to work a faucet. Similarly, when we engage with water utilities to help them harden their cyber defenses we need to bring solutions that fit the needs of water operators instead of asking them to conform to standard IT expectations. Their widespread use of OT and IoT requires an approach that can meet them where they are.

At Zscaler, we're focused on delivering cybersecurity solutions for water and wastewater operators that can be rapidly and effectively deployed regardless of network topology or current level of capability. Defending against malicious actors requires a modern approach to cybersecurity based on Zero Trust security principles. This is especially true as threat actors increasingly use AI to automate reconnaissance, scale attacks, and exploit vulnerabilities faster than legacy defenses can respond. Our Zero Trust approach is informed by the scale of what Zscaler sees globally across enterprise, public sector, and critical infrastructure environments. With visibility into a vast volume of cyber activity around the world, Zscaler is able to identify emerging threats, attacker behaviors, and new techniques early, and apply those insights to better protect essential services. Because our solutions are cloud-delivered and designed to work alongside existing infrastructure, water utilities can strengthen their security posture without costly rip-and-replace projects or the burden of managing additional hardware.

Zscaler is working with the water sector to make an immediate impact by helping water operators to:

Reduce the External Attack Surface Zscaler's Zero Trust Branch (ZTB) solution greatly reduces the attack surface of the organization, which immediately limits exposure to external attacks. ZTB puts the water utility's internet presence into stealth mode and leverages connectivity to the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange to secure the entity's communications.

Provide Secure Internet Access Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) is a cloud-native gateway that acts as a secure, policy-driven intermediary between users and the internet. It replaces legacy hardware like firewalls and VPNs with a globally distributed proxy network, inspecting all traffic inline to prevent threats, malware, and data loss. For water utilities, this means fewer boxes to buy, rack, and maintain, and a faster path to stronger security.

Enable Microsegmentation ZTB enables microsegmentation of the entity's internal network without requiring massive network changes or firewall sprawl that would introduce complexity. This is especially valuable for resource-constrained water utilities because our approach does not require agents to be installed on the many OT and IoT devices already in use.

Provide Secure Privileged Remote Access The Zero Trust Exchange allows water utilities to ensure trustworthy and secure communications and internet connectivity. Importantly, ZTB facilitates secure Privileged Remote Access to internal systems, ensuring that water utilities can continue to work with water industry partners in support of their infrastructure without opening the door to attackers.

Identify Attacks Earlier and Gain Visibility into Threat Actor TTPs Zscaler Deception places lightweight sensors within the water utility network that detect lateral movement and network reconnaissance. Deception can be deployed on endpoints running the Zscaler Client Connector, giving operators early warning of attacker activity without adding complexity to the environment.

Protecting access to safe drinking water needs a collective effort between water utilities, local government, policy makers at the State and Federal level, State agencies, emergency management and technology services, and technology companies such as Zscaler.

Learn more: Download our Zero Trust Water Operations Solution Brief for a deeper look at how Zscaler helps secure water and wastewater systems.

See us in person: Zscaler will be at the Billington Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Summit in San Antonio, TX, November 17-18, 2026. Visit us at Booth 213 - stop by and let's talk about how Zero Trust can work for your environment.