As the world becomes more interconnected and the integration of smart technologies into infrastructure systems increases, so does this risk of cyber threats to those critical structures. Cybersecurity is no longer just a digital threat. It is already physically impacting communities around the world.
The ASCE2027 vision and strategy session “Cyber Resilience in the Age of Smart Cities” examines the role of cyber resilience in the built environment and highlights key vulnerabilities, emerging threats, and best practices for safeguarding smart city infrastructure.
In this ASCE Interchange Live, Bill Bowers, chief information security officer for American Water, and a panelist for the ASCE2027 vision and strategy session, previews the panel and discusses how infrastructure leaders are protecting smart cities through cyber resilience.
This ASCE Interchange Live is part of a special series highlighting the vision, strategy sessions, key themes, and keynote voices of ASCE2027.
“The consequences don’t just land in IT. They land in the physical world. That’s the world that engineers are designing, planners are approving, and asset owners are operating. So for every one of these folks, because there is a physical impact of these cyber risks, it impacts everybody across the board. The infrastructure we’re going to engineer today will be around 30, maybe 50, maybe 100 years from now,” said Bowers.
“We need to build cyber resilience into these conversations at the very beginning. I’ve been in cyber for a long time. And one of the things that we always try to do is get in the room when these things are being planned and sit with the engineers. Let’s make sure we are futureproofing from a cyber perspective as much as we possibly can. It is very difficult for any cyber practitioner to bolt those things on at the end.”
Bowers also discusses AI’s growing role in cyber threats, as well as the unique perspectives the ASCE2027 panel discussion will provide on approaching cyber resilience. These valuable insights from professionals in academia, industry, and government will be a part of ASCE2027 programming that addresses the “AI-Driven Design & Cyber-Resilience” key theme of the event.
ASCE2027 will be held in Philadelphia, March 1-5, 2027. Registration for ASCE2027 is now open. To learn more, visit experience.asce.org.
To view all ASCE Interchange episodes, visit ASCE’s YouTube channel.
