Theme 1 – Security vs. Connectivity
Many commenters argue that exposing critical infrastructure (e.g., water PLCs) directly to the Internet is inherently unsafe and should be avoided or heavily mediated.
- “If it’s connected, it’s compromised. Or will be.” – grebc
- “You can't have both secure infrastructure and Internet exposed infrastructure.” – 27183
- “Don't put your PLCs directly on the internet.” – Kim_Bruning
Theme 2 – Cost and Practical Trade‑offs
Air‑gapping or other hardened solutions are seen as effective but often prohibitively expensive; the current state persists because security investments clash with budget realities.
- “Taking things offline and properly airgapped can also work, but wouldn't the cost of that exceed making specialized things and maintaining them?” – sublinear
- “The physical cost of installing definitely dominates the conversation…” – baby_souffle
- “We got into this situation due to cost, not ignorance.” – sublinear
Theme 3 – Organizational and Human Factors
Even when better practices exist, inertia, insufficient expertise, and a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset prevent timely upgrades and proper maintenance of critical infrastructure.
- “Keeping things up to date and holding critical infrastructure to higher standards than consumer tech is not a bad idea.” – sublinear
- “Critical infrastructure is rarely properly maintained… ‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it' is the motto of governments…” – Jtsummers
- “Problem is, a lot of these systems are not built by IT people… they tend to lack the necessary paranoia.” – Kim_Bruning