John Walsh
ON THE RECORD · 10 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“Think about if we don't have water for seven days, or if they attack freezers and we don't have food,”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh warned that cyberattacks on critical infrastructure like water and food supplies could create economic and social unrest.
“Security is kind of like, 'I feel I can trust that things are okay.' Resilience is where you make the assumption the attacker is present—where, when the attacker is present, you control the blast radius,”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh distinguished between security, which assumes things are okay, and resilience, which assumes an attacker is already present.
“They've demonstrated taking it down, which to some degree is them practicing, honing their skills, and honing their methodologies against real targets while sending a message,”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh said hackers demonstrating the ability to take down systems may be practicing and honing their skills against real targets.
“We're definitely more vulnerable, they're definitely targeting us, and citizens, government, and the international community need to get governance in place to push industries to implement these protections,”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh called for governance measures to push industries to implement cybersecurity protections for critical infrastructure.
“One of the big things we have to consider is that we're moving from a thought process of security to resilience,”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh said cybersecurity firms must shift from a mindset of security to one of resilience as infrastructure becomes more digitized.
“A primary obstacle in [operational technology] environments — whether in food manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, oil, or utilities — is that facilities operate assets that are 15 to 20 years old,”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh explained that aging operational technology assets are a primary obstacle to securing critical infrastructure.
“These systems are expensive, fragile, and essential to ongoing operations.”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh described the challenges posed by legacy systems that are 15 to 20 years old in operational technology environments.
“Think about if you were to try to disrupt the U.S. economy or begin to do terrorism-type activities. What would you do? You'd go after water and wastewater. You'd go after the food supply. Exactly what occurred here, but at a larger scale,”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh warned that adversaries seeking to disrupt the U.S. economy would target water, wastewater, and food supply systems.
“That's a tough situation for people to live through, and it could create a lot of economic and social unrest. We're seeing that we're vulnerable and that attacks are taking systems down.”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh described the potential consequences of attacks on critical systems that supply food and water.
“I do think that what we're beginning to see is a pattern across the U.S., France, and the UK. We see the adversary—potentially a geopolitical adversary—basically practicing their art and demonstrating their art in different locations,”
John Walsh · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-18
Walsh warned that a pattern of hacks across the U.S., France, and the UK may indicate a geopolitical adversary practicing and demonstrating attacks.