Critical Infrastructure Protection Market (2026-2036)

The growth of this market is mainly driven by rising cyberattacks on operational technology and industrial control systems, state-sponsored threats and sabotage targeting energy, water, transport, and communications networks, new resilience and cybersecurity regulations such as the EU NIS2 and CER directives, and the inclusion of critical infrastructure protection in NATO spending commitments. In addition, the growing threat from drones, attacks on undersea cables and pipelines, and the convergence of IT and OT systems are further supporting the growth of this market.

The Critical Infrastructure Protection Market, also referred to as the critical infrastructure security, CIP, or critical infrastructure resilience market, comprises the physical security, cybersecurity, and command-and-control solutions and services used to protect the assets, networks, and systems that are essential to society and the economy. The market includes video surveillance, access control, perimeter intrusion detection, screening and scanning, and counter-drone systems; network, OT and industrial control system (ICS), identity, endpoint, and security operations solutions; physical security information management (PSIM) and command-and-control platforms; and integration, managed security, consulting, and support services. It serves energy and power, oil and gas, transportation, water and wastewater, telecommunications and data centers, government facilities, chemical and manufacturing, healthcare, and financial infrastructure. The market ecosystem extends from sensor, camera, and network equipment manufacturers and security software vendors to systems integrators, managed security service providers, infrastructure operators, and government agencies.

Critical infrastructure is facing a wider and more serious range of threats than at any time in recent decades. State-sponsored cyber groups are positioning themselves inside energy, water, transport, and communications networks, ransomware groups are targeting industrial operations, and physical sabotage of cables, pipelines, and energy assets has increased, particularly in Europe. Governments are responding with new regulations and funding, and infrastructure operators are increasing their spending on both physical and cyber protection.

Cyber threats to operational technology are rising rapidly. According to Dragos, 119 ransomware groups targeted industrial organizations in 2025, up from 80 in 2024, and around 3,300 industrial organizations were impacted globally, with an average ransomware dwell time of 42 days in operational technology (OT) environments. Manufacturing accounted for more than two-thirds of victims, and Dragos identified three new threat groups in 2025, including SYLVANITE, which was observed targeting U.S. electric and water utilities, and VOLTZITE, which targeted U.S. midstream pipeline operations. Dragos also found that 26% of ICS vulnerability advisories contained no vendor patch or mitigation, and identified more than 100 internet-exposed battery energy storage system devices.

State-sponsored threats are a major concern for governments. In February 2024, CISA, the NSA, the FBI, and partner agencies in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. warned that the China-linked group Volt Typhoon had maintained access to some victim IT environments for at least five years and was positioning itself to disrupt communications, energy, transportation, and water and wastewater systems during a major crisis or conflict. In one water utility, the group spent nine months moving through the network and gained access to information about water treatment plants and an electrical substation.

Physical threats to infrastructure have also increased. At least 11 Baltic Sea cables were damaged between October 2023 and January 2025, and in January 2025, NATO launched the Baltic Sentry mission, deploying warships, maritime patrol aircraft, and naval drones to protect undersea infrastructure. Undersea cables carry around 97% of global communications, including trillions of dollars in financial transactions each day, making their protection a priority for governments and operators.

Drones have become a significant threat to infrastructure. In September and October 2025, drone sightings over airports in Denmark and Norway affected tens of thousands of passengers, and Munich Airport suspended flights on 2 and 3 October 2025, grounding 17 flights and affecting nearly 3,000 passengers in the first closure. Denmark later banned all civil drone flights in its airspace, and in October 2025, the EU set out plans for a European Drone Defence Initiative to begin initial operations by the end of 2026 and to be fully functioning by the end of 2027, alongside an Eastern Flank Watch program.

Regulation is a major driver of spending. The EU NIS2 Directive extends cybersecurity obligations to a wide range of essential and important entities, and the CER Directive requires Member States to identify critical entities across 11 sectors, including energy, transport, banking, health, drinking water, waste water, digital infrastructure, public administration, space, and food, by 17 July 2026. Critical entities must carry out risk assessments, implement technical, organizational, and security measures, and report significant incidents within 24 hours, and entities designated under CER automatically qualify as essential entities under NIS2.

Defense and resilience funding is also increasing. In June 2025, NATO members agreed to raise the Alliance spending target to 5% of GDP by 2035, including 3.5% for core defense requirements and up to 1.5% for protecting critical infrastructure, defending networks, and strengthening civil preparedness and resilience. This is the first time that NATO has explicitly linked infrastructure protection and resilience spending to its spending target, which is expected to increase government funding for critical infrastructure protection across member states.

Supplier results reflect the strength of demand for security technologies. Motorola Solutions, a major supplier of video security, access control, and mission-critical communications, reported 2025 revenue of USD 11.7 billion, up 8%, with growth driven by mission-critical networks and video, and guided to revenue of around USD 12.7 billion in 2026. Infrastructure operators are increasingly combining physical and cyber security in integrated programs, and suppliers are responding with converged platforms that combine video, access control, intrusion detection, and OT security.

The vulnerability of industrial systems is a further concern. Dragos found that 25% of ICS and NVD vulnerabilities had incorrect CVSS severity scores and that only 2% of ICS-relevant vulnerabilities required immediate action under its risk model, which means operators need specialized OT expertise to prioritize their response. At the same time, the number of connected assets is increasing as utilities add renewable generation, battery storage, smart meters, and remote monitoring, expanding the attack surface of energy and water networks.

The value of protection programs is increasing as threats become more complex. A typical program for a large energy or transport operator now combines video surveillance, perimeter intrusion detection, access control, drone detection, OT network monitoring, identity management, and a security operations center, along with risk assessment and incident response services. As a result, spending per site and per operator is expected to grow faster than the number of protected assets over the forecast period.

This indicates growing demand for OT visibility and managed security services among smaller utilities.

This points to the growing role of counter-drone systems in infrastructure protection.