GRID NEWS · UNITED STATES / NORTH AMERICA
Announcement: October 20, 2026
Accenture, Dragos and SANS have announced a programme intended to expand operational-technology cybersecurity resources for smaller electricity, gas and water utilities.
Editorial illustration; not a photograph of the reported project or event.
A cybersecurity initiative announced on October 20 is seeking to strengthen the operational-technology security capabilities of smaller U.S. utilities.
Accenture, Dragos and the SANS Institute have launched the Community Cyber Resilience Foundation, intended to provide cybersecurity technology, deployment assistance and workforce training.
The initiative includes approximately $10 million in initial funding and services and aims to support up to 500 utilities.
Smaller electricity providers often operate critical infrastructure with limited cybersecurity personnel and budgets.
Unlike conventional corporate IT systems, utility operational technology includes equipment and communications networks associated with physical processes, including substations, industrial control systems and supervisory control systems.
Protecting these environments requires attention to asset visibility, network segmentation, secure remote access, vulnerability management and incident response.
The initiative addresses a significant capability gap, but the announcement does not establish that the intended number of utilities has already received protection.
Engineering significance
Cyber resilience depends on operational capability, equipment visibility and personnel training, not simply the availability of security software.
Dragos’s October 20 foundation announcement ↗
Related analysis: Read the related investigation →