Industrial Cybersecurity for Water Utilities
Case Study: How Antigen Security Customers in the Water Sector Can Save Up to 60% on Cyber Insurance with Robust OT Cybersecurity Controls
Background
Antigen Security, a trusted leader in cybersecurity solutions, is helping water utilities significantly reduce cyber risk while improving their cyber insurance standing. By implementing operational technology (OT) cybersecurity controls tailored for industrial environments, Antigen’s customers in the water sector are achieving both operational resilience and substantial insurance cost savings.
Challenges Faced by Water Utilities
Water utilities are becoming prime targets for cyber adversaries. Despite this growing threat, recent assessments reveal that only 22% of water utilities have implemented protection and monitoring capabilities on their OT systems—despite 30% having OT-networked assets. This leaves the industry vulnerable to attacks that can disrupt service, compromise safety, and result in financial and reputational damage.
To mitigate these risks, water utilities increasingly rely on cyber insurance. However, high premiums, rigid underwriting standards, and limited understanding of industrial cyber maturity often make adequate coverage difficult to obtain or sustain.
Solution: Leveraging Purpose-Built OT Cybersecurity Controls
Antigen Security provides water utilities with a comprehensive suite of OT-focused cybersecurity capabilities that address these gaps, including:
Automated Asset Discovery & Visibility
Real-time mapping and inventory of industrial assets ensure organizations understand what’s in their environment and can detect changes that may signal a threat.Continuous Threat Detection
Anomaly detection and behavioral analytics monitor for suspicious activity, enabling early identification of both known and unknown threats.Actionable Threat Intelligence
Industry-specific intelligence enhances response efforts by providing timely and relevant context for emerging threats.Incident Response Support
Expert responders help quickly contain and remediate threats, minimizing downtime and exposure.Compliance & Risk Reporting
Built-in tools align with major compliance frameworks and help water utilities communicate their risk posture to regulators and insurers.
Financial Impact: Enabling Major Insurance Premium Reductions
By adopting these controls, Antigen Security customers improve their cybersecurity maturity in ways that are both measurable and meaningful to insurance providers. Insurance underwriters view these technical controls and response readiness as significant risk mitigators.
Through strategic alignment with cyber insurance brokers and carriers, Antigen Security customers have reported the ability to negotiate premium reductions of up to 60%. This is particularly beneficial for municipal and regional utilities operating on tight budgets.
As Antigen CEO and Co-Founder Steven Legg explains, “We’ve seen firsthand how strong OT cybersecurity directly influences underwriting decisions. Insurers want to see proof of resilience—and we’re helping our clients provide that.”
Conclusion
Water utilities that adopt comprehensive OT cybersecurity measures through Antigen Security are not just protecting infrastructure—they’re strengthening their financial standing. With a clear path to improved risk profiles, better incident response capabilities, and demonstrable insurance benefits, these organizations are setting the standard for proactive cyber risk management in critical infrastructure.
