McCrary Institute Outlined Infrastructure Defense Priorities

The report details strategies to counter AI-enabled cyber threats targeting essential utility systems.

Updated on Oct. 5, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Isometric editorial illustration of a heavy industrial electrical transformer, symbolizing the protection of critical infrastructure systems. — The McCrary Institute report details defensive strategies against AI-enabled cyber threats to U.S. power, water, and manufacturing infrastructure. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Is now the right time for infrastructure providers to integrate AI into their security systems?

The McCrary Institute has published three primary directives to secure U.S. critical infrastructure against automated cyberattacks. The guidelines address the rising risk of AI-driven disruption in power, water, and manufacturing sectors.

Why it matters

AI-enabled attacks allow adversaries to identify vulnerabilities and execute disruption paths with significantly lower technical barriers. To counter these automated threats, defensive security operations must shift to operate at machine speed.

The institute identified 3 core security priorities to strengthen infrastructure resilience against AI-based threats. These focus on moving beyond manual human-led alert investigation to automated detection and containment.

The players

McCrary Institute

An Auburn University-based research entity focused on protecting critical infrastructure and advancing cybersecurity policy.

Booz Allen

A management and technology consulting firm providing specialized cybersecurity strategy and defense integration.

Frank Cilluffo

A cybersecurity expert and co-author of the report who focuses on national security policy and infrastructure resilience.

Brad Medairy

A senior technical leader at Booz Allen and co-author who oversees strategy for securing industrial control systems.

The details

The report suggests organizations implement agentic systems—software capable of autonomous action to achieve defined goals—to detect and isolate cyberattacks in real-time. By pressure-testing security controls with emulated AI threats, defenders can identify potential disruption paths before they are exploited. This approach aims to replace traditional security models that currently rely on slower, human-intensive investigation of alerts.

September 2026: Booz Allen and the McCrary Institute convened a tabletop exercise.
September 28, 2026: The McCrary Institute published its findings.

The Tech Race

This guidance follows a series of industry-wide efforts to address the widening capability gap between offensive AI automation and static legacy defenses. It represents an attempt to standardize security practices as critical infrastructure operators transition toward active, agentic monitoring.

Infrastructure operators are expected to begin reassessing their internal security readiness and identifying their most mission-critical assets in response to these findings. The transition toward automated, machine-speed defense will eventually impact how organizations handle security alerts and containment workflows.

The takeaway

Organizations should prepare for a shift toward autonomous security tools that can operate at machine speed. Watch for upcoming security audits and technical documentation releases from the McCrary Institute to see which specific software frameworks are recommended for infrastructure defense.