CyManII expands national effort to strengthen critical infrastructure cybersecurity resilience
As cyberattacks against critical infrastructure and manufacturing systems continue to escalate across the U.S., the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII) is expanding its efforts to help communities, manufacturers and public agencies strengthen their cyber defenses before disruptions occur – from factory shutdowns and compromised industrial systems to interruptions in the supply chains that support America’s economy and defense capabilities.
CyManII is a U.S. Department of Energy-funded institute and one of 17 institutes in the national Manufacturing USA network. Through partnerships with industry, government and academia, the Institute works to secure America’s manufacturing ecosystem and operational technology (OT) environments from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats targeting essential infrastructure systems.
CyManII’s 2026 Manufacturing & Critical Infrastructure Threat Landscape Report highlights how the increasing connectivity of modern manufacturing environments, including the adoption of cloud technologies, Internet of Things (IoT) devices and other advanced technologies, is creating new cybersecurity challenges for manufacturers. The report identifies emerging risks such as vulnerabilities in interconnected systems, third-party exposures and weaknesses in industrial environments that could be exploited by cyber adversaries.
From energy and water utilities to ports, transportation networks and manufacturing facilities, cyber incidents targeting OT can create widespread disruptions with national economic and public safety consequences. According to a 2026 report from industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos, more than 3,000 organizations nationwide experienced cyberattacks last year. In the industrial sector, 75% of those incidents led to partial OT shutdowns, while 25% resulted in full shutdowns.
To help address those risks, CyManII has expanded its hands-on cybersecurity training and simulation exercises designed to improve readiness, collaboration and incident response capabilities among critical infrastructure operators and community stakeholders across the country.
“Critical infrastructure systems are facing an evolving and persistent cyber threat landscape,” said Dr. Howard Grimes, CyManII CEO. “CyManII is bringing together manufacturers, communities and public agencies to strengthen cybersecurity readiness through hands-on training and realistic simulations that help organizations prepare for threats before they impact operations, supply chains and essential services.”
This year, CyManII hosted a series of two-day OT and critical infrastructure cybersecurity simulation exercises designed to replicate real-world cyberattack scenarios in cities like El Paso, Corpus Christi and Eagle Pass. Through these immersive exercises, technical teams, industry representatives and public sector leaders tested their response capabilities, improved coordination and built the resilience needed to protect critical systems from cyber threats.
The training gave participants an opportunity to evaluate their current cybersecurity practices, practice decision-making during a simulated attack and better understand the challenges of responding to a coordinated cyber incident across multiple organizations.
Participants in El Paso included representatives from the U.S. Department of War Transformation Decision Analyst Center (TDAC), Lower Valley Water District (LVWD), National Laboratory of the Rockies, Region 19 ESC, First Light Federal Credit Union, the City of El Paso, El Paso County, El Paso Water, El Paso Electric Company and El Paso County 911 District.
“Part of a full incident response plan is working with our risk management team to have a more organizational response,” said Jason Lantrip, director of cybersecurity at FirstLight Federal Credit Union. “It’s a more complete response that looks at everything from the legal department to the marketing department to the executives. These exercises gave us a view into how the technical team needs to communicate and how the leadership side needs to be prepared to react.”
In Corpus Christi, CyManII’s cybersecurity simulation exercise gave critical infrastructure stakeholders the opportunity to test their preparedness against realistic cyberattack scenarios. The exercise provided participants with a realistic environment to test their response strategies, strengthen cross-sector communication and gain firsthand experience navigating the complex challenges of a cyber incident before facing one in the real world.
Participants included representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI Houston Division, City of Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Port of Corpus Christi, San Patricio Electric Cooperative, Formosa Plastics, Steel Dynamics and other regional partners.
Over the two days, participants gained practical experience responding to cyberattack scenarios that could disrupt OT and industrial control systems. By working through ransomware simulations, incident response drills and risk assessments, organizations improved their ability to make critical decisions, coordinate during a cyber incident and protect infrastructure essential to public health, safety and economic stability.
CyManII officials led the training by using the institute’s Cyber Range capabilities, providing a hands-on environment where participants walked through alert triage, containment strategies and recovery planning. The training reinforced that cyber incidents extend beyond traditional IT networks and can have direct impacts on physical infrastructure, manufacturing operations and essential services nationwide.
“I came to this training to better understand the threats we’re facing,” said Edson Wellmann, IT supervisor at Steel Dynamics in Corpus Christi. “It helps us identify vulnerabilities and be proactive in our networks. Knowing the steps to follow – and having a clear communication and troubleshooting framework – is critical.”
By bringing together local leaders, industrial operators and state and federal cybersecurity partners, the exercise reflected one of CyManII’s core principles: Secure Together.
CyManII’s critical infrastructure cybersecurity engagements conducted in recent months are part of the institute’s broader effort to strengthen cybersecurity preparedness and workforce readiness across the nation’s manufacturing and critical infrastructure sectors.
These training efforts are part of CyManII’s broader mission to strengthen cybersecurity resilience across Texas and the nation. To date, CyManII’s programs have helped protect and prepare communities representing more than 5 million Texas residents by advancing cybersecurity education, workforce development and critical infrastructure readiness.
As cyber threats targeting OT continue to evolve, with attackers increasingly exploiting the growing complexity and connectivity of industrial systems, CyManII is expanding its national cybersecurity readiness efforts.
Through programs such as its OT Bootcamp, hands-on simulation exercises and expanded partnerships with critical infrastructure stakeholders across the U.S., CyManII is helping organizations strengthen their ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from cyber incidents that could impact essential services and the nation’s economy.
