Topic hub
Infrastructure and Operational Technology
Control systems, sensor networks, utility data, asset management, and the security that operational technology requires.
Water treatment, power distribution, traffic signals, and building systems run on technology that was designed for availability and decades of service life, often before anyone considered network security. As these systems gain connectivity and produce continuous data, they become both more useful and more exposed.
The material here covers segmenting control networks from business networks without disrupting operations, collecting and acting on sensor and meter data, the asset data foundation that any analytics or digital twin depends on, and the procurement terms that keep an agency from being locked into one device vendor's platform.
HQT capabilities in this area
- Data & AnalyticsData platforms, reporting, GIS, open data, and machine learning aligned to public-sector AI guidance.
- CybersecurityAssessments, security engineering, compliance support, and monitoring for agencies that hold sensitive public data.
Services
- Zero Trust Architecture
- Traffic & Infrastructure Monitoring Software
- Vulnerability Management & Penetration Testing
- Data Governance & Quality
- Dashboards & Reporting
- GIS & Spatial Analytics
- Security Assessments
- CJIS & Regulatory Compliance
- Security Monitoring & Incident Response
- Security Awareness Programs
- Risk Management Framework Support
- NIST 800-171 & CMMC Readiness
Solutions by agency type
- Cybersecurity for Cities and TownsPractical security programs for municipal IT teams that support finance, public works, police, and fire with limited staff.
- Cybersecurity for County GovernmentsSecurity programs spanning health, human services, justice, elections, and public works, each with its own regulatory obligations.
- Cybersecurity for Public Safety AgenciesProtecting dispatch, records, and mobile systems under the CJIS Security Policy without compromising availability.
- Cybersecurity for Water, Power, and Public UtilitiesSegmenting and defending control systems and the business systems that surround them.
- Cybersecurity for School Districts and CollegesRansomware-resistant security for districts with thousands of devices, small teams, and student privacy obligations.
- Cybersecurity for Special Districts and AuthoritiesSecurity fundamentals for fire, water, park, library, and regional agencies without in-house IT security staff.
- Data and Analytics for County GovernmentsCross-departmental reporting, outcome measurement, and data sharing that respects confidentiality rules.
- Data and Analytics for Cities and TownsCouncil reporting, open data, and operational dashboards built on definitions everyone agrees with.
- Data and Analytics for Water, Power, and UtilitiesTurning meter, sensor, and asset data into leak detection, condition assessment, and rate support.
- Data and Analytics for Public SafetyOperational reporting, state mandates, and public transparency built from dispatch and records data.
Reference articles
- Real-time data: streaming and IoT platforms for cities and utilitiesHow agencies collect and act on data from sensors, meters, vehicles, and signals as it happens.
- Tabletop exercise: a SCADA compromise at a water utilityA ready-to-run two-hour tabletop exercise for a SCADA compromise at a water utility, with injects, roles, and decision points.
- Digital twins for utilities and public infrastructureWhat a digital twin is in practical terms, and where the concept delivers value for water, power, and facilities.
- Endpoint detection and response: EDR and managed detection for agenciesWhat EDR adds beyond antivirus, and how agencies decide whether to watch the alerts in house or buy managed detection.
- Vendor remote access to SCADA and OT systems: rules and controlsHow agencies can replace always-on integrator VPNs into SCADA with brokered, operator-approved, time-boxed, recorded sessions.
- Water and wastewater compliance reporting and operations dataHow water and wastewater utilities move data from SCADA and the lab to regulators, and what to require of the systems in between.
- Stream and rain gauge telemetry for flood warning programsHow agencies specify stream and rain gauge telemetry that survives the storm: sensors, backhaul, power, alarms, and upkeep.
- Predictive maintenance for agency fleets, facilities, and equipmentWhat data predictive maintenance really requires, how to test it against a tightened PM schedule, and how to turn predictions into work orders.
- Operational technology security for utilities and public worksHow control systems differ from IT, the risks they face, and the practical controls that protect them.
- Network segmentation for local governmentWhy flat networks are dangerous, how to divide them, and how to do it without breaking operations.
- Security logging and SIEM: what to collect and how long to keep itA practical order for onboarding log sources into a SIEM, how to set retention periods, and why ingestion volume drives cost
- Planning a network refresh: switches, wireless, and what to replace firstHow to inventory network gear, rank switch and wireless replacements by risk, and plan for PoE, cabling, and closet limits.
- Street light inventories and networked controls before an LED retrofitHow agencies confirm street light ownership, tariffs, and GIS inventory before buying LED fixtures and networked controls.
- Traffic signal systems: controllers, ATMS software, and cabinet communicationsHow a traffic signal system fits together: cabinets and controllers, detection, central ATMS software, communications, security, and records.
- Outage communication: maps, restoration estimates, and proactive alertsHow utilities should publish outage maps, restoration estimates, and proactive alerts that stay accurate and available under load.
- Patching systems you cannot reboot: rings, windows, and exceptionsHow agencies can use deployment rings, realistic maintenance windows, and documented exceptions to patch 24/7 systems.
- Vulnerability remediation: from scan report to closed ticketHow to turn a long scanner export into a tracked remediation queue with owners, deadlines, and signed risk acceptances.
- Network monitoring for a small agency: what to watch and whyA practical monitoring baseline for small government networks: which signals to watch, what each one tells you, and how to size a tool.
- Storing sensor time series: retention, downsampling, and rollupsHow agencies set retention windows, downsample sensor and meter readings into rollups, and choose a time series store.
- Zero Trust architecture for public agenciesThe principles behind Zero Trust, the maturity model, and a realistic sequence for a small security team.
- Cloud, SaaS, colocation, or on-premises: choosing where agency workloads runHow public cloud, vendor-hosted SaaS, colocation, and on-premises infrastructure differ, and the criteria an agency uses to choose.
- Run your own security operations or buy monitoring as a serviceFour models for continuous security monitoring, what each asks of staff and contracts, and how response decisions stay with the agency.
From the blog
- A digital twin starts with the GIS, not the platform
- Lessons from building a streaming pipeline for sensor data
- Model the cloud bill before you move the workload
- How a council member reads your IT budget request
- Replacing a legacy application without a big-bang cutover
- Zero Trust without buying a Zero Trust platform
- API-first integration for agencies that own a dozen vendor systems
- Patching is boring, and that is the point
- Why we would build a permit portal on serverless services
- Boring technology is the right default for systems that must run for a decade