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Protecting Critical Infrastructure | Palo Alto & Smarttech247 on Cyber Resilience

Critical Infrastructure
Cloud and Infrastructure
Leadership and Resilience
Incident Response and Recovery
Supply Chain and Third Party Risks
April 28, 2026
Show Notes
Timestamps
Adam Anderson from Smarttech247 and Martin Carry from Palo Alto Networks discuss the evolving threat landscape and how organisations can better secure critical systems and infrastructure.

In-House Specialists

Adam Anderson

Regional Sales Executive UK & Ireland
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External Speakers

Martin Carry

Systems Engineering Manager
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Key Strategic Takeaways

What is driving the increase in cyber threats against critical infrastructure?

The combination of geopolitical instability, IT/OT convergence, and AI-driven attack automation is creating more exposed attack surfaces and making critical infrastructure a higher-value target for both cybercriminals and nation-state actors.

Why are attacks on critical infrastructure different from traditional cyber attacks?

Unlike standard enterprise breaches, attacks on critical infrastructure can impact public safety, healthcare, transport, utilities, and even national economic stability — not just data or systems.

Why is defending critical infrastructure so difficult?

Organizations are often managing a mix of legacy OT systems, modern IT infrastructure, and fragmented visibility across environments, making detection, segmentation, and rapid response significantly more complex.

What is the biggest challenge organizations face when securing OT environments?

The biggest challenge is aligning IT, OT, and security teams around a common operating model, with shared visibility, governance, and response processes across interconnected systems.

What should organizations prioritize first to improve cyber resilience?

Organizations should focus first on visibility — understanding what systems exist, how they communicate, what vulnerabilities are present, and where the greatest operational risks lie.

What is driving the increase in cyber threats against critical infrastructure?
Why are attacks on critical infrastructure different from traditional cyber attacks?
Why is defending critical infrastructure so difficult?
What is the biggest challenge organizations face when securing OT environments?
What should organizations prioritize first to improve cyber resilience?

0:00 Introduction

0:41 Current cyber threat landscape for critical infrastructure

2:09 IT and OT convergence creating new attack surfaces

3:42 AI, automation, and evolving cyber threats

5:01 Why critical infrastructure attacks are different from enterprise attacks

6:56 Why attackers target critical infrastructure

8:52 Operational disruption and ransomware impacts

10:04 Why defending critical infrastructure is difficult

12:04 Visibility and detection challenges in OT environments

13:18 Importance of IT and OT collaboration

15:02 Common cyber resilience mistakes organizations make

16:32 Practical recommendations for organizations

17:28 What leaders should prioritize over the next 12 months

18:10 Final thoughts and closing remarks

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