Key Takeaways
- The Central Virginia National Security Alliance (CVNSA) Critical Infrastructure Protection Forum will convene on August 25, 2026, to strengthen cyber‑physical resilience of water, wastewater, and municipal systems in the region.
- FBI Richmond’s Cyber Squad will open the forum with an assessment of current and emerging threats targeting critical infrastructure, emphasizing intelligence sharing and early‑warning indicators.
- The 91st Cyber Brigade will outline how military cyber capabilities can support civilian utilities under Defense Support to Civil Authorities, stressing the need for pre‑established relationships and clear jurisdictional guidelines.
- A panel of utilities, the University of Virginia, and CISA will examine OT/SCADA vulnerabilities, lessons from incidents, and the interdisciplinary skills required to protect essential services.
- Piedmont Virginia Community College’s proposed regional cyber range aims to provide hands‑on training that bridges the workforce gap in operational‑technology security.
- Private‑sector firms will discuss collaboration opportunities, information‑sharing barriers, and concrete commitments to improve collective defense before the next incident.
- The forum exemplifies a national‑security‑ecosystem model where federal, military, academic, utility, and industry stakeholders must work together to safeguard the systems that keep communities functioning.
Overview of the Forum
The Central Virginia National Security Alliance (CVNSA) Critical Infrastructure Protection Forum is scheduled for August 25, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon at Piedmont Virginia Community College’s Bolick Auditorium. The event brings together federal agencies, military cyber professionals, utility operators, academia, and private‑sector experts to assess and enhance the cyber and physical resilience of Central Virginia’s critical infrastructure. Organizers intend to facilitate threat‑intelligence sharing, explore collaborative defense models, and evaluate training and technology solutions, with a special emphasis on creating a regional cyber range to support workforce development and readiness.
FBI Threat Landscape Briefing
Opening remarks will be delivered by the FBI Richmond Field Office Cyber Squad, focusing on the current and emerging cyber threat landscape affecting water, wastewater, and municipal systems across Virginia and the mid‑Atlantic. The session will cover the FBI’s role in intelligence sharing, incident response, and private‑sector partnerships, while highlighting specific threats to essential utilities. Prepared discussion questions will guide participants toward operational concerns such as the tactics used against water‑and‑wastewater systems, the speed at which utilities can engage federal law enforcement after a suspected intrusion, barriers to effective information sharing, and the early warning signs municipal IT teams should recognize.
Military‑Civilian Cyber Coordination
A briefing from the 91st Cyber Brigade will examine how offensive and defensive cyber capabilities can be leveraged to support civilian infrastructure under the Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) framework. The presentation will include examples of past military‑civilian cyber coordination, lessons learned from CYBER FORTRESS exercises, and an analysis of legal or jurisdictional constraints that may affect assistance during an incident. A key theme of the discussion will be determining what triggers military cyber support for utilities and how organizations can establish relationships with military cyber entities before a crisis occurs, underscoring that resilience depends on pre‑incident partnerships rather than ad‑hoc introductions.
Protecting Water and Wastewater Systems
At 10 a.m., a panel featuring representatives from Central Virginia water and wastewater utilities, the University of Virginia, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will address the cybersecurity posture of regional OT/SCADA environments. Topics will include current vulnerabilities, lessons from incidents and near‑misses, and the training, threat‑intelligence, incident‑response, and coordination needs of utility operators. Academic contributors will discuss research involving data science, machine learning, and network analysis, as well as pathways for preparing the next generation of infrastructure security professionals. CISA will outline what constitutes a “resilience‑ready” utility and the challenges inherent in protecting physical infrastructure where availability and continuous operation are paramount.
Building a Regional Cyber Training Pipeline
Workforce development will take center stage with a presentation on Piedmont Virginia Community College’s proposed cyber range. The facility is designed to serve utility operators, local‑government IT staff, private‑sector partners, and students by providing hands‑on simulation scenarios that replicate water and wastewater OT systems and municipal networks. The forum will explore the resources, partnerships, and governance structures required to establish the range as a component of Central Virginia’s broader national‑security ecosystem. By offering realistic, repeatable training environments, the cyber range aims to close a persistent workforce gap: professionals often lack direct experience with the specialized operational‑technology systems they may be called upon to defend.
Private‑Sector Collaboration and Action Planning
The final portion of the forum will shift from presentations to partnership building. Regional private‑sector firms will showcase their capabilities in cybersecurity, OT protection, threat monitoring, and incident response, and will discuss opportunities to collaborate with utilities, municipalities, PVCC, UVA, and federal agencies. Participants will then engage in a cross‑sector working discussion focused on shared vulnerabilities, shortcomings in information sharing, the potential role of the PVCC cyber range, and concrete commitments organizations can make before the next convening. The session is expected to conclude with identified action items and plans for a follow‑on working group to sustain momentum.
Broader Significance and Career Implications
The CVNSA Critical Infrastructure Protection Forum illustrates a model of national‑security collaboration that transcends any single agency, employer, or sector. Effective defense of water systems, municipal networks, and other critical infrastructure demands federal investigators who grasp the threat, military cyber professionals who understand complex operations, infrastructure operators who know their systems, researchers developing innovative solutions, companies capable of deploying those solutions, and a workforce trained to operate across government‑industry boundaries. For ClearanceJobs professionals in cybersecurity, intelligence, defense, infrastructure protection, and related missions, the forum serves as a reminder that some of the most consequential cyber work ahead will occur not on traditional government networks but in the essential systems that deliver water, support municipalities, and keep communities functioning—necessitating a workforce prepared to bridge those divides.