# Federal Agencies Strengthen Critical Infrastructure Security

Recent federal advisories from agencies including the NSA, CISA, FBI, DOE, and EPA highlight the urgent need to implement zero-trust security models within critical infrastructure sectors, particularly targeting operational technology environments such as water systems. These advisories emphasize eliminating implicit trust, enforcing strict identity verification, least privilege access, and continuous monitoring to protect legacy OT systems from evolving cyber threats. Government contractors and procurement professionals should prioritize solutions that enable zero-trust access controls, session monitoring, and AI-driven threat detection and mitigation to meet these emerging federal security priorities.

- Federal agencies including NSA, CISA, FBI, DOE, and EPA are jointly advocating for zero-trust security adoption in critical infrastructure protection
- Procurement opportunities are likely to focus on advanced cybersecurity solutions tailored for operational technology environments in sectors like water utilities
- Companies should consider developing or enhancing AI-assisted threat mitigation tools, as highlighted by the joint advisory noting AI's role in lowering barriers to exploitation tooling
- This indicates a growing federal emphasis on securing legacy systems and reducing attack surfaces, creating demand for specialized cybersecurity contractors and integrators

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military, Public Safety
**Topics:** Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence
**Published:** September 23, 2026

### Government Entities
- National Security Agency (NSA)
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Department of Energy (DOE)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

### Vendors
- Keeper Security (prime contractor)

### Key Quotes
> AI-assisted development can lower the technical barrier and reduce the time required to create exploitation tooling.
> — Joint advisory AA26-231A from NSA, CISA, FBI, DOE, EPA

### Sources
- [Why Critical Infrastructure Needs Zero-Trust Security - Security Boulevard](https://securityboulevard.com/2026/09/why-critical-infrastructure-needs-zero-trust-security) - Security Boulevard