Agentic AI
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Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
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Black Hat
Claroty CEO Yaniv Vardi on Securing OT Amid AI-Driven Infrastructure Growth
Nation-state attackers are exploiting outdated operational technology and converged IT/OT infrastructure faster than operators can defend them. Claroty is countering this by launching a dedicated public sector arm and an artificial intelligence-native security agent built to protect OT environments.
See Also: AI Phishing Now Frighteningly Normal, Hard to Detect
Yaniv Vardi, CEO of Claroty, said recent attacks on water utilities, along with nation-state activity linked to Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon, underscore the lack of dedicated OT security services for the U.S. public sector, pushing the company to launch a dedicated public sector business focused on OT security. Public-sector environments carry different risk priorities, he said.
Vardi pointed to a separate gap on the physical side: Team82 research found nearly one in five data center assets sits one hop from internet-accessible systems, as AI-driven infrastructure expands rapidly across manufacturing, industrial and healthcare environments.
“The race to connectivity and the race to develop these AI data centers by far outpaces the ability to secure it,” Vardi said.
In this video interview with ISMG at Black Hat USA 2026, Vardi also discussed:
- Why human oversight still guides AI-recommended actions in critical infrastructure environments;
- Why full visibility into connected OT assets remains a persistent blind spot for operators;
- Where he sees critical infrastructure security consolidating through 2027.
Vardi leads Claroty’s growth strategy and advances its cyber- physical systems security platform. He has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in cybersecurity and industrial technology. He previously held leadership roles at Centrica Business Solutions, Panoramic Power and Sparta Systems.
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