AI Infrastructure Growth Is Reshaping the Cyber-Physical Threat Landscape

核心亮点：AI正在从“电脑里的工具”变成“整个社会的骨架”，但基础设施越智能，被攻击的风险也越大，网络安全正面临全新挑战。通俗解读：以前工厂、电网、交通系统都是独立运转的，黑客想搞破坏得“物理接近”。现在为了让AI帮忙优化生产、预测故障，这些工业设备纷纷连上了互联网和云平台，相当于把原本封闭的大门打开了。黑客只要找到一个系统的漏洞，就可能顺着网络摸进核心控制室，甚至让整座城市的供电或供水瘫痪。美国白宫最近发布的AI行政令也承认，AI既能增强防御，也能让攻击更聪明，各国围绕AI的竞争已经直接关系到基础设施安全。实际影响：你家用的电、坐的地铁、喝的自来水，背后都有AI在调度。这些系统越智能，就越依赖网络连接，而连接越多，被攻击的入口就越多。未来你可能看到更多“黑客攻击电网”“工厂停产”的新闻，但好消息是，各国政府和安全公司也开始把保护这些“关键设施”当作头等大事，新的防护技术和规则会陆续出台，保障你日常生活不出乱子。

Thought Leaders AI Infrastructure Growth Is Reshaping the Cyber-Physical Threat Landscape Published July 31, 2026 By Jen Sovada, GM of Public Sector, Claroty Add Unite.AI to your preferred sources on Google AI is rapidly becoming a foundational layer of modern infrastructure. Organizations are investing heavily in AI-powered systems, expanding data center capacity, integrating cloud platforms, and deploying automation across industrial environments. These advances are creating new opportunities for efficiency and innovation, but they are also introducing new cybersecurity challenges.The growing intersection between AI infrastructure, operational technology (OT), and critical infrastructure has created a more complex cyber-physical systems (CPS) environment. Systems that once operated independently are increasingly connected through cloud services, remote access technologies, enterprise identity platforms, and industrial data networks.At the same time, U.S. policy around advanced AI is evolving. The recent White House Executive Order on AI innovation and security reflects growing recognition that frontier AI capabilities have national security implications. While the order focuses on encouraging innovation while improving safeguards, it also highlights a broader challenge: cybersecurity strategies must adapt to a world where AI can accelerate both defensive capabilities and offensive threats.As geopolitical competition around advanced AI intensifies, critical infrastructure operators face a changing threat environment. The challenge is not only defending against increasingly capable adversaries, but also securing a growing ecosystem of connected systems where everyday exposures can create opportunities for disruption.AI Adoption Is Accelerating IT and OT ConvergenceAI infrastructure expansion is changing how organizations operate. Industries such as energy, manufacturing, transportation, and water are adopting AI to improve forecasting, automate processes, optimize maintenance, and analyze operational data.However, AI-driven transformation depends on connectivity. Industrial environments increasingly rely on connections between traditional IT systems, cloud platforms, edge devices, and operational technology.Historically, many industrial systems were designed around reliability and availability rather than cybersecurity. Some environments were isolated from enterprise networks and operated on long technology lifecycles. Digital transformation has changed that model.Remote monitoring, cloud-based analytics, and centralized management platforms have improved efficiency but have also expanded the number of systems that must be protected.For critical infrastructure operators, cybersecurity is no longer limited to corporate networks. Security teams must understand and manage relationships between business systems, industrial processes, connected devices, and external services.Exposure Remains the Primary Path Into Critical InfrastructureWhile advanced AI-enabled attacks are receiving significant attention, most compromises of cyber-physical environments continue to rely on familiar weaknesses.Attackers frequently exploit exposed systems, insecure remote access services, weak authentication practices, and poor visibility into