Examining Physical Security Threats to Critical Infrastructure from Hostile Nation States

The cybersecurity threat to critical infrastructure from nation states hostile to the U.S. and its Western allies, primarily Russia, China, and Iran, is appreciated by many public safety stakeholders. However, increasing geopolitical tensions coupled with growing cooperation between these adversarial states has emboldened their leadership and made them less risk averse. These factors likely raise the probability of these states engaging in grey-zone activities, which in turn increases the likelihood of them directing or conducting physical attacks against critical infrastructure in pursuit of their goal of undermining Western nations and sowing chaos.

The cybersecurity threat to critical infrastructure from nation states hostile to the U.S. and its Western allies, primarily Russia, China, and Iran, is appreciated by many public safety stakeholders. However, increasing geopolitical tensions coupled with growing cooperation between these adversarial states has emboldened their leadership and made them less risk averse. These factors likely raise the probability of these states engaging in grey-zone activities, which in turn increases the likelihood of them directing or conducting physical attacks against critical infrastructure in pursuit of their goal of undermining Western nations and sowing chaos.