Accenture, Dragos, SANS Institute Partner on Cybersecurity For Underresourced Utilities

By Elias Schisgall

Accenture is joining forces with Dragos and the SANS Institute to provide around $10 million worth of cybersecurity measures for utilities in the U.S.

The three groups are collectively contributing around $10 million for the first phase of the initiative, which will provide cybersecurity services and training for free for up to 500 under-resourced utilities.

The initiative also involves the launch of the Community Cyber Resilience Foundation, a non-profit aiming to fortify the cybersecurity measures of utilities with less than $100 million of annual revenue.

The announcement was made following a surge of cyberattacks targeting U.S. water systems in more than a dozen states, the three groups said.

"Our work with America's critical infrastructure operators has shown both the gravity of the cyber threats they face and a widening vulnerability gap--between large operators with the resources to invest in cybersecurity and smaller utilities that often lack those means," Accenture Chief Executive Julie Sweet said.

Accenture on Tuesday also said it had acquired Avicado, a construction technology consultancy, based in Miami, Fla. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 20, 2026 16:14 ET (20:14 GMT)