Cyberattacks on water systems and other centralized networks have highlighted vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, according to Sheldon H. Jacobson. The piece argues that systems such as air travel, education platforms, and financial networks can be disrupted when a central data-management point fails. It says the tradeoff between efficiency and risk must be constantly measured in a connected digital economy.
A JetBlue Airlines plane lands near the Air Traffic Control tower at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Oct. 7, 2025. gettyimagesbank-TNS
Recent cyberattacks on water systems in several states demonstrate the risks posed to cyber physical systems that support critical infrastructures. Cyberattacks have become common enough that most people do not take much notice when one occurs, unless it affects them directly.
In 2024, there were over 859 thousand cyberattacks, or nearly 100 per hour on average, with financial losses in 2024 alone amounting to nearly $17 billion, up from $2.7 billion in 2018. Amongst all these cyberattacks, nearly 4,900 were against critical infrastructures that support our physical and digital economy. However, when Canvas, a learning management system used by K-12, colleges and universities, and corporate training centers to coalesce and deliver educational materials remotely and as well to support in-person delivery, was crippled in May by a ransomware cyberattack, its impact on millions of people could not be ignored.
