FEATURE: AUTONOMOUS INFRASTRUCTURE
Les Williamson, Regional Director
Australia and New Zealand, Check Point Software Technologies, explains why Australia must address the hidden risks of Artificial Intelligence and automation in critical infrastructure to ensure resilience and accountability.
Autonomy ascending
Across the country, AI is quietly reshaping how infrastructure is managed. In electricity grids, smart systems are already balancing voltage and frequency in real time.
Meanwhile, predictive maintenance algorithms in manufacturing plants are forecasting equipment failures days in advance using everything from thermal sensors to vibration analysis. Water treatment facilities are also relying on machine learning models to dynamically adjust chemical dosages based on live sensor data.
These capabilities represent the vanguard of autonomous industrial operations. But they also come with a hidden cost: complexity. With each new layer of automation – every sensor, algorithm and networked control system – the web of dependencies becomes more tangled. Decisions are increasingly made by systems whose inner workings are opaque even to their designers.
The AI models at the heart of these systems are often so-called‘ black boxes’, making decisions based on vast troves of data with little transparency. Worse, they are adaptive, learning and evolving in real time. This means the decision-making logic is not only complex but constantly changing, making audits, explanations and troubleshooting far more difficult.
At an ever-increasing rate, AI and automation are revolutionising operational technology( OT) across Australia’ s most critical infrastructure sectors.
From electricity grids and water treatment plants to advanced manufacturing, AI-driven systems are enabling unprecedented levels of efficiency, predictive capability and autonomous decision-making. However, amid the promise of progress lies the dangerous illusion that more automation and AI necessarily equates to more control.
Converging risks in OT environments
Traditionally, OT systems in sectors like power, water and transport were air-gapped and highly secure, intentionally isolated from wider networks. But the rise of cloud computing, smart sensors and always-on connectivity has seen the boundaries between IT and OT blur.
The benefits such as faster response times, remote monitoring and data-driven optimisation are undeniable. But so too are the risks.
Rethinking security for Australia’ s autonomous industrial future
24 INTELLIGENTCIO APAC www. intelligentcio. com