How Idaho National Laboratory Is Building the Future of Infrastructure Security with Zach Tudor

America is asking more from its critical infrastructure just as adversaries are finding more ways to target it. AI, data centers, electrification, and next-generation energy systems all depend on operational technology—the control systems that keep power, water, transportation, and industry moving. As that backbone grows more connected, the stakes of securing it grow even higher. In this episode of Cyber Focus, Frank Cilluffo speaks with Zach Tudor, Associate Laboratory Director at Idaho National Laboratory, about how INL tests and secures critical infrastructure at scale. Tudor explains why resilience must guide infrastructure defense, what Ukraine and China reveal about the risks facing critical infrastructure, and why cyber-informed engineering is essential as new technologies move into energy, nuclear, wireless, and industrial systems. The conversation also covers AI's role in control environments, the workforce needed to secure future infrastructure, and the challenge of moving faster before a major event forces action. Main Topics Covered INL's critical infrastructure mission Testing infrastructure at scale OT security and resilience AI risks in control systems Cyber-informed engineering Workforce needs for energy security Key Quotes "No infrastructure is impervious to attack." — Zach Tudor "I think we're getting to the point where, if you are delivering power to the nation, then you are a risk professional as well as a power engineer." — Zach Tudor "Resilience for me is not just the preparation for an attack or the response to an attack, but the ability to mitigate the effects of an attack, to respond quickly, and to recover quickly as well." — Zach Tudor "We are a national lab in the public economic and national security interest. And so we'll do what needs to be done. We say that labs do what others can't, won't or shouldn't do." — Zach Tudor "The mindset of an engineer who's thinking about operations is different from the mindset of an IT security person who's protecting databases or privacy or other data." — Zach Tudor Relevant Links and Resources Idaho National Laboratory Department of Energy National Laboratories Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Guest Bio Zach Tudor is Associate Laboratory Director for National and Homeland Security at Idaho National Laboratory, where he leads programs focused on critical infrastructure protection, operational technology security, and national security innovation. He previously served at the Department of Homeland Security's ICS-CERT and is a former U.S. Navy submariner. Tudor has spent decades working at the intersection of cybersecurity, energy systems, and national defense.