Named EmberAI, the new capability is built on Dragos’ massive operational technology cybersecurity dataset.

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Accenture announced Thursday it would acquire a majority stake in industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos for $3.25 billion and purchase two smaller security companies outright, essentially making a $4.18 billion bet that defending the IT networks of power grids, pipelines, factories and critical infrastructure sectors will become one of the defining challenges of the AI era.

The deals — which also include two Austin, Texas-based companies, runZero and NetRise —  represent a significant strategic pivot for Accenture toward operational technology (OT) security,  a segment of the cybersecurity market that has long been underfunded relative to traditional IT defenses. The announcement comes as the consulting giant faces pressure on its core business from the same AI tools reshaping the threat environment it is now moving to address.

Dragos, founded in 2016 by former intelligence specialists and based in Hanover, Maryland, has built what the industry regards as a leader detecting threats in OT environments. Its proprietary dataset of industrial threat intelligence has made it a trusted partner to critical infrastructure operators globally.

RunZero specializes in asset discovery and attack-surface intelligence — essentially mapping what is connected to a network and identifying where it is exposed. NetRise focuses on firmware-level visibility and software supply chain security, areas that have drawn increased scrutiny since high-profile incidents revealed how deeply embedded vulnerabilities can propagate through industrial device ecosystems.

Dragos co-founder and CEO Robert M. Lee will continue leading the combined entity, which will operate as an independent business under Accenture’s ownership. The CEOs of runZero and NetRise, HD Moore and Tom Pace, respectively, along with NetRise’s chief technology officer Michael Scott, will join Dragos as senior executives.

The acquisitions are not Accenture’s first move in OT security. The company acquired Cimation in 2015 and Revolutionary Security in 2020, along with several other OT-focused firms. 

Thursday’s deal, however, is of a different scale and ambition. Where previous acquisitions built out Accenture’s services capabilities, the addition of Dragos, runZero and NetRise moves the company firmly into OT cybersecurity software, a market it had not previously entered at scale.

Accenture and Dragos describe this expanding environment — which also encompasses Internet of Things devices, cloud-connected sensors and related IT infrastructure — as “xOT.” The concern is that as AI is integrated into industrial decision-making, the attack surface grows. At the same time, adversaries are using AI to shorten the window between compromising an IT network and pivoting to OT systems underneath it.

Despite that convergence, most cybersecurity budgets remain concentrated on traditional IT, leaving critical infrastructure comparatively exposed. The OT cybersecurity services market is estimated at roughly $7 billion in 2026. The broader OT cybersecurity market, which includes software, is estimated at $27 billion this year and projected to reach nearly $59 billion by 2031, growing at approximately 16% annually.

“Our energy and water systems, manufacturing plants, data centers and other operational environments need cybersecurity built from the ground up for xOT and designed to keep pace as threats evolve. The consequences of getting it wrong become societal threats,” Lee said in a release. “Organizations need solutions, not a patchwork of software and services. The addition of runZero and NetRise will allow the Dragos Platform to be a unique end-to-end platform for global defense, and Accenture will bring its decades of trusted relationships and deep expertise to help us scale and secure more critical infrastructure and physical operations globally.”

The transactions are expected to close in August or September, pending customary regulatory approvals.

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The deal values industrial cybersecurity giant Dragos at $3.25 billion, and runZero and NetRise will operate under Dragos.

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One day AI may be capable of creating malware that threatens critical infrastructure.

But that day was not earlier this month, when reports surfaced of a new piece of malware seemingly configured to search for and sabotage Israeli water infrastructure, according to industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos. 

The malware, called ZionSiphon, was first identified by AI cybersecurity firm Darktrace, which said it was designed to target operational technology and industrial control system environments. The code scans the internet for IP addresses tied to water treatment and desalination plants owned or operated in Israel, with the goal of compromising them to sabotage the levels of chlorine and poison water supplies.

Strings in the malware’s binary code included the names of different components of the Israeli water sector, as well as politically-themed messaging, such as “In support of our brothers in Iran, Palestine, and Yemen against Zionist aggression.”

But a technical lead malware analyst at Dragos, Jimmy Wyles, called the malware nothing more than “hype,” claiming it poses no threat to water plants in Israel or anywhere else. 

For instance, whoever wrote the malware appears to have little knowledge of how operational technology works at Israeli water plants.

“The code is broken and shows little to no knowledge of dam desalination or ICS protocols,” wrote Wylie.

The developers also appeared to use AI to generate significant portions of the code, leading to hallucinations and errors. All the Windows-based process names and directory paths designed to confirm that a target was related to water desalination were filled with “fictional and likely LLM generated guesses.” The configuration files purportedly designed to manipulate chlorine levels were also fake and likely created using AI. 

Darktrace’s analysis notes that the malware sample they tested appears to be dysfunctional, citing an incorrect configuration in the code’s country targeting functions.

But Wylie wrote that the malware still would have been harmless to water treatment plants even when correctly configured, because the rest of the code was so riddled with “logic errors and invalid assumptions” that it would have been inoperable.

Similar maturity and logic issues were found in the malware’s USB infection and self-destruction capabilities. Wylie said Dragos was withholding additional technical analysis of the flaws plaguing ZionSiphon because they’re “not in the business of fixing malware for adversaries.”

The episode highlights an ongoing dispute around how much attention defenders – particularly those who work with operational technology – should give to more novel threats like AI-enabled hacking, versus more established tactics, techniques and procedures that have been successfully wielded by foreign hacking groups.

Operational technology – the systems that control or manipulate the machinery used in water facilities, electrical power plants and other industrial sectors – differs substantially from information technology environments. That presents challenges for both cybersecurity defenders and malicious hackers who often lack the industry-specific knowledge or skillset to design effective exploits.

To wit, Dragos claims there are publicly less than 10 malware samples capable of threatening industrial control systems. ZionSiphon is not one of them.

Wylie was critical of the way threat intelligence companies and media outlets initially framed the danger posed by the malware, saying it was overblown and likely diverted water sector cybersecurity resources away from more tangible threats, like Volt Typhoon, the Chinese-backed hacking group that U.S. intelligence officials say has burrowed deep into American critical infrastructure.

“Those responsible for protecting water treatment facilities and other critical infrastructure have finite time and attention,” Wylie wrote. “Spending either on ZionSiphon means spending less on threat groups like [Volt Typhoon], which have a demonstrated history of intrusions into those environments and are a far more pressing concern.”

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