Cybersecurity incidents are often discussed in terms of stolen passwords, compromised email accounts, ransomware, and data breaches.

But what happens when a cyberattack moves beyond information and begins affecting the physical systems an organization depends upon?

Recent cybersecurity incidents involving water systems in Georgia provide a concerning example.

In late July 2026, cyber incidents involving water utilities in Clayton County, Coweta County, and Columbus came to light amid a broader wave of attacks against water and wastewater infrastructure across the United States.

While investigations continue and the full circumstances surrounding some of the incidents have not been publicly disclosed, the events demonstrate an important cybersecurity principle for organizations of every size:

Cyber risk can quickly become operational risk.

For small and midsized businesses, the lesson is not that every organization should prepare for an attack against industrial equipment. The lesson is that every business has critical technology, systems, accounts, and information that could disrupt operations if compromised.

Understanding those dependencies and protecting them before an incident occurs is fundamental to building cyber resilience.

What Happened to Georgia’s Water Systems?

Several Georgia water systems reported cybersecurity incidents associated with activity occurring around July 27, 2026.

Clayton County: A Water Service Disruption and Cyber Investigation

On July 27, the Clayton County Water Authority reported a pump station failure affecting customers in portions of Forest Park, Lake City, Morrow, and Riverdale.

The failure occurred at approximately 1 a.m. and caused some customers to experience low water pressure or no water. Crews restored pressure at approximately 4 a.m.

Because a loss of system pressure can potentially allow contaminants to enter the water distribution system, a precautionary boil water advisory was issued.

The advisory was lifted the following day after water quality testing found no harmful bacteria.

The incident subsequently received additional scrutiny when officials began investigating unauthorized cyber activity that may have caused or contributed to the disruption.

It is important to distinguish between what is known and what remains under investigation. The operational disruption occurred, and unauthorized cyber activity was investigated, but publicly available information has not conclusively established that the cyber activity caused the pump station failure.

That distinction matters when evaluating cybersecurity incidents.

Coweta County: Attackers Attempted to Gain Control

The Coweta County incident provides a clearer picture of how a cyberattack can potentially cross the boundary between information technology and physical operations.

According to Coweta Water and Sewerage Authority CEO Jay Boren, attackers gained access to the water system on July 27 through what he described as “cellular channels.”

The attackers began changing passwords and shutting down controls.

The authority’s IT personnel detected the intrusion after losing communication with programmable logic controllers, commonly known as PLCs.

PLCs are specialized computers used throughout industrial environments to control physical equipment and processes.

Within a water system, these controllers can be responsible for equipment including:

• Pumps
• Valves
• Pump stations
• Lift stations
• Other water and wastewater infrastructure

The attackers reportedly attempted to manipulate valves and gain control of equipment used to operate the system.

Fortunately, the attempts were unsuccessful.

The authority shut down automated operations and transitioned to manual operations while passwords were changed and control of the environment was secured.

Officials reported that water service was not interrupted, customer information was not compromised, and the drinking water supply was not affected.

The attacker’s objective is particularly significant.

According to Boren, the activity appeared focused on gaining physical control of the system rather than stealing financial information. Potential consequences could have included turning water on or off or manipulating lift stations in a way that could contribute to a sewer spill.

The identity of the attackers has not been publicly confirmed.

Columbus Water Works Also Detected an Intrusion

Columbus Water Works was also identified as having detected a cyber intrusion associated with the same period.

Public reporting indicates that the drinking water supply was not affected.

The Columbus incident is particularly noteworthy because it adds another Georgia utility to a growing national pattern of cybersecurity activity directed at water and wastewater infrastructure.

The three Georgia incidents occurred while federal authorities were warning critical infrastructure operators about increased attacks against operational technology.

Why Operational Technology Has Become a Cybersecurity Target

Modern organizations depend heavily on interconnected technology.

Water utilities provide an especially visible example.

A modern water system can include traditional information technology alongside operational technology such as:

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) that control equipment.

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems that allow operators to monitor and manage industrial processes.

Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) that provide operators with visibility and control over equipment.

Remote access technologies that allow engineers, administrators, vendors, and technicians to manage systems from other locations.

These technologies provide tremendous operational benefits.

They can also create cybersecurity exposure when critical equipment becomes reachable through poorly secured networks, remote access systems, cellular connections, default credentials, outdated software, or internet facing devices.

Federal cybersecurity agencies have been warning organizations about precisely this risk.

In April 2026, the Environmental Protection Agency, FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and National Security Agency issued a joint cybersecurity advisory regarding an ongoing Iranian affiliated threat targeting operational technology.

The agencies warned that attackers had been exploiting internet connected operational technology, including PLCs, across U.S. critical infrastructure.

The recent Georgia incidents should therefore be considered within a much larger cybersecurity challenge facing critical infrastructure throughout the country.

However, the existence of that federal warning does not establish who was responsible for each Georgia incident. Attribution requires evidence, and investigations into the recent attacks remain ongoing.

What Does a Water System Cyberattack Have to Do With Your Business?

Most small businesses do not operate pumps, treatment facilities, SCADA systems, or industrial controllers.

But nearly every modern business has technology that is critical to its operations.

Consider a different question:

What technology could stop your organization from operating if you suddenly lost access to it tomorrow?

For one company, it may be Microsoft 365.

For another, it may be a customer database.

For a retailer, it could be payment processing.

For an engineering company, it could be project files and specialized applications.

For a healthcare organization, it could be patient scheduling or electronic records.

For a professional services firm, it could be email, cloud storage, accounting systems, or customer information.

For almost any organization, it could simply be access to its computers and data.

Attackers do not necessarily have to steal information to cause serious damage.

Sometimes denying access to information or technology is enough.

That is why cybersecurity should not only be viewed as protecting data.

Cybersecurity is also about protecting the organization’s ability to operate.

Seven Cybersecurity Lessons Businesses Can Take From These Incidents

1. Identify Your Critical Systems and Data

You cannot adequately protect assets you have not identified.

Organizations should maintain an understanding of their critical technology, applications, devices, accounts, vendors, and information.

Then ask a more important question:

What would happen to the business if this system became unavailable?

Understanding business impact helps organizations prioritize cybersecurity investments around actual risk.

2. Secure Remote Access

Remote access should never automatically mean unrestricted access.

VPNs, remote administration tools, cloud management portals, vendor connections, and other remote access technologies should be limited to authorized personnel and protected with strong authentication.

Access that is no longer required should be removed.

3. Require Multifactor Authentication

A stolen password should not be enough to compromise a critical system.

Multifactor authentication should be implemented wherever technically possible, particularly for:

• Email
• Cloud applications
• VPN access
• Administrative accounts
• Remote management platforms
• Financial applications

Organizations should also regularly review privileged accounts and remove unnecessary administrative access.

4. Reduce Unnecessary Internet Exposure

One of the most important lessons from attacks against operational technology is remarkably applicable to ordinary businesses.

If a system does not need to be directly accessible from the internet, it probably should not be.

Organizations should periodically identify externally exposed services and determine whether that exposure is actually required.

Firewalls, secure remote access architecture, network segmentation, and access controls can substantially reduce the attack surface.

5. Segment Critical Systems

An employee workstation, guest wireless network, server, backup environment, administrative interface, and critical business application should not necessarily exist within the same security boundary.

Network and system segmentation can make it more difficult for an attacker who compromises one device or account to move deeper into the environment.

The objective is simple:

One compromised system should not automatically become an entire compromised business.

6. Maintain Backups and Test Recovery

Many organizations say they have backups.

The more important question is:

Can you actually restore your business from them?

Critical information should be backed up according to business requirements, with protections designed to prevent an attacker from easily deleting or encrypting backup copies.

Organizations should periodically test restoration procedures.

A backup strategy that has never been tested is still an assumption.

7. Prepare to Operate During a Cyber Incident

One of the most interesting aspects of the Coweta County response was the transition to manual operations.

That is cyber resilience.

The organization was able to continue providing its essential service even while automated systems were being secured.

Businesses should consider the same principle.

If email becomes unavailable, how will employees communicate?

If cloud storage becomes unavailable, can critical documents still be accessed?

If a payment platform fails, is there an alternative process?

If ransomware affects computers, who has authority to make decisions?

If an administrator account is compromised, how will access be restored?

Incident response planning should answer these questions before an actual emergency occurs.

Cybersecurity Is a Business Risk, Not Just an IT Problem

The Georgia water system incidents demonstrate why cybersecurity cannot be delegated entirely to technology.

A compromised PLC can become a water operations problem.

A compromised Microsoft 365 account can become a financial fraud problem.

A ransomware infection can become a business continuity problem.

A compromised customer database can become a regulatory and reputational problem.

A failed backup can become an existential business problem.

Technology may be where the incident begins.

The consequences belong to the business.

This is why organizations need a cybersecurity strategy based on risk rather than a collection of disconnected security products.

Buying another firewall, antivirus product, or security application does not automatically create a cybersecurity program.

Organizations need to understand what they are protecting, what threats they face, where vulnerabilities exist, what controls are already in place, and which risks require additional attention.

How Poole Technology Solutions Can Help

Small and midsized organizations often face a difficult cybersecurity challenge.

They rely on increasingly complex technology while rarely having the resources of a large enterprise cybersecurity department.

Poole Technology Solutions, LLC helps organizations close that gap by serving as a trusted cybersecurity advisor, helping business leaders understand their technology risks and develop practical strategies to reduce them.

Our approach begins with understanding the business.

Cybersecurity Risk Assessments

We help organizations identify critical assets, threats, vulnerabilities, existing safeguards, and areas where cybersecurity risk may exceed acceptable levels.

The objective is not simply to produce a list of technical findings.

It is to help leadership understand which risks matter most to the business and where security investments should be prioritized.

Security Architecture Reviews

We evaluate how critical technology is protected, including endpoints, cloud services, networks, administrative access, identity systems, remote access, and other components of the organization’s technology environment.

Email and Identity Security

Email remains one of the most frequently targeted entry points into organizations.

Poole Technology Solutions helps organizations strengthen email and identity protections, including Microsoft 365 security, multifactor authentication, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and defenses against phishing, spoofing, and business email compromise.

Backup and Cyber Resilience Reviews

Backups are an essential part of ransomware preparedness and business continuity.

We help organizations evaluate whether critical information is being appropriately protected and whether recovery processes align with business requirements.

Cybersecurity Policies and Incident Response

Technology alone cannot determine how an organization responds during an emergency.

We help businesses establish practical cybersecurity policies, responsibilities, and incident response procedures so employees and leadership understand what to do when something goes wrong.

Ongoing Cybersecurity Advisory

Cybersecurity is not a one time project.

Technology changes.

Employees change.

Vendors change.

Threats change.

The organization’s cybersecurity posture needs to evolve with them.

Poole Technology Solutions can provide ongoing cybersecurity guidance to help organizations evaluate risk, prioritize improvements, and make informed technology and security decisions.

You Do Not Have to Operate Critical Infrastructure to Have Critical Systems

A water authority may consider pumps, valves, PLCs, and treatment systems critical.

Your business may consider email, financial information, customer records, intellectual property, cloud applications, or a single computer containing years of business information critical.

The technology is different.

The cybersecurity principle is the same.

If losing access to a system or piece of information could significantly disrupt your organization, it is a critical business asset and should be protected accordingly.

The recent incidents involving Georgia water systems provide a timely reminder that cyberattacks are no longer limited to stolen information.

They can interrupt operations.

They can remove an organization’s ability to control its own technology.

And, in some environments, they can potentially create consequences in the physical world.

The objective of cybersecurity is not to guarantee that an organization will never experience an attack.

The objective is to understand the risks, reduce the likelihood of compromise, detect problems quickly, limit their impact, and maintain the ability to recover.

That is cyber resilience.

Is Your Business Prepared?

You do not need to wait for a cybersecurity incident to discover where your weaknesses are.

Poole Technology Solutions offers a Free Cybersecurity Readiness Assessment designed to help small and midsized organizations gain a high level understanding of their current cybersecurity posture and identify areas that may deserve additional attention.

– https://assessment.pooletechsol.com/

The assessment is designed to start the conversation.

Because the best time to understand your cybersecurity risk is before an attacker exposes it for you.

Poole Technology Solutions, LLC
Helping organizations identify risk, strengthen cybersecurity, and build resilience.