Cybersecurity and water security: Managing digital threats to critical infrastructure

As geopolitical uncertainty, increasing cyber threats and evolving regulatory requirements continue to transform the risk landscape, safeguarding the resilience of critical water infrastructure is becoming ever more essential.

Water facilities - critical national infrastructure in the Middle East - present high-value targets for cyber threats, with operational technology systems, SCADA networks, and industrial control systems increasingly exposed to sophisticated attacks. This session examines the evolving cyber risk landscape facing water infrastructure projects in the region, including the regulatory and contractual obligations on developers, operators, and contractors to implement and maintain appropriate cybersecurity standards. We will explore how cyber risk is being allocated across project agreements, the insurance market's response to this exposure, and the legal frameworks — both regional and international — that govern incident reporting, liability, and recovery in the event of a cyber-related disruption to water supply.

Who should attend

Utilities, project sponsors, EPC contractors, developers, lenders, investors, operators, technology providers, insurers and public sector stakeholders involved in the development, financing, construction and operation of water and desalination infrastructure across the Middle East.