In late August 2025, a sophisticated ransomware attack struck Nevada’s state networks, forcing the closure of government offices and disrupting services statewide. Citizens arriving at DMVs found doors closed and critical systems offline as officials scrambled to contain the breach. Just weeks earlier, a U.S. water utility in California reported over 6 million hacking attempts from China-based addresses in a single week – persistent scans probing for vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure. These incidents are not isolated. They underscore a sobering reality: public sector agencies and operators of critical infrastructure are under siege from cyber threats that are more targeted, persistent, and potentially destructive than ever. As one expert noted, attackers have increasingly shifted from large federal targets to “state and local” governments and utilities, recognizing that smaller agencies often have fewer defenses. In this high-stakes environment, the cost of cyberattacks is measured not just in data or dollars lost, but in real-world disruption – from halted government services to endangered water supplies.
Encryption is a fundamental tool in this fight. By scrambling data, encryption ensures that even if attackers intercept communications or steal files, they can’t read or exploit the information without the proper keys. Both data in transit (moving across networks) and data at rest (stored on devices or drives) need strong encryption to thwart spies, ransomware crews, and insider threats. However, how encryption is implemented makes a world of difference. Relying on software alone to do the job is increasingly proving inadequate in the face of modern attack techniques. To truly protect today’s power grids, water systems, government networks, and other critical systems, organizations need to rethink their approach and consider solutions built for the current threat landscape.
Why Software-Only Encryption Falls Short
Many agencies deploy software-based encryption (think of tools like BitLocker on PCs or VPN software for network traffic) as a checkbox security measure. But software-only encryption has inherent weaknesses that savvy attackers are exploiting. For one, software encryption typically runs on the same systems it’s meant to protect – and is only as secure as the host computer or server. If malware or a skilled intruder compromises an operating system, they can often dodge or disable software encryption, especially if they obtain admin privileges. In Nevada’s 2025 attack, for example, hackers infiltrated government networks and even managed to exfiltrate some data– a scenario that robust encryption might have mitigated, but only if the keys and encryption process were safely out of the attacker’s reach.
Software-based encryption also stores keys and executes algorithms in software memory, which modern malware can target. Advanced threats like rootkits and memory scrapers aim to grab encryption keys from RAM or extract passwords, effectively undoing the encryption without cracking the algorithms themselves. Additionally, purely software solutions often come with a performance price tag. Encrypting and decrypting data in software can slow down systems and network throughput. In industrial control settings or real-time operations, this latency or resource drag can be unacceptable – leading some staff to disable encryption for the sake of keeping systems running, which opens the door to attackers.
Perhaps most importantly, software requires constant vigilance. Patches for encryption libraries and VPN clients need to be applied promptly to fix vulnerabilities. If IT teams fall behind (not uncommon in under-resourced municipal IT departments or small utilities), attackers can pounce during that window of exposure. The bottom line: software-only encryption, while necessary, is not sufficient on its own. As threats accelerate, a stronger line of defense is needed – one that attackers can’t simply bypass by hijacking the underlying system. This is where dedicated encryption hardware comes into play.
Hardware Encryption: A Practical, Forward-Looking Defense
It’s no surprise that 2025 has seen a surge of interest in hardware-based encryption solutions. Even the U.S. Congress has acknowledged the need: over $1.6 billion was earmarked for cryptographic modernization in 2025, reflecting a consensus that “software-based protections aren’t enough anymore” and that “hardware encryption is becoming the standard.” The appeal of hardware encryption lies in its fundamental design advantage: it operates independently from the general-purpose system, using dedicated processors (often in a tamper-resistant module) to handle all cryptographic tasks. Because the encryption engine and keys are isolated from the regular OS and software environment, it becomes “much harder to intercept or break” the data, even if hackers manage to breach a network or device. In other words, a compromised server might give an intruder one foothold, but if the encryption is handled by a separate hardware appliance, the attacker can’t easily get the keys or alter the encryption process to spy on sensitive data.
Dedicated encryption hardware also brings significant performance and reliability benefits. Purpose-built devices can encrypt data at very high speeds with negligible latency, ensuring that security doesn’t become a bottleneck. For instance, Worksters encryption hardware achieves wire-speed encryption (on the order of 100 Gbps) for high-capacity networks, meaning critical infrastructure operators can secure communications without slowing down operations. Offloading encryption tasks to hardware frees up servers and endpoints to do their primary jobs, and it avoids the sluggishness users often notice with software encryption.
Crucially, hardware encryptors are designed with tamper-resistance. Many incorporate physical protections and will zero out keys if someone attempts to pry open or manipulate the device. This makes them ideal for unmanned facilities or remote sites where physical security isn’t guaranteed. Overall, hardware encryption provides a far smaller attack surface: there are no open software ports or background services for attackers to exploit, just a hardened device doing one job extremely well. With cyber adversaries ranging from ransomware gangs to state-sponsored hackers, this kind of hardened, purpose-driven defense is a practical way to future-proof an organization’s security. As one cybersecurity entrepreneur observed, using hardware encryption is faster and “harder to tamper with”, and it doesn’t depend on constant patching the way software does. It’s a forward-looking strategy that many in the defense and critical infrastructure space are now embracing.
Conclusion: Investing in Resilience
In today’s threat landscape, where a single breach can halt city services or put public safety at risk, critical infrastructure operators can no longer afford half-measures in cybersecurity. Relying on software-only defenses is a gamble with increasingly poor odds. Dedicated encryption hardware like Worksters offers a practical, proven way forward. It pairs the unyielding security of hardware-based cryptography with the flexibility to work within existing systems. The blend of robust protection (for both data in motion and at rest), compatibility with legacy assets, easy integration, and centralized oversight makes it a comprehensive solution for organizations that simply cannot afford downtime or data compromise.
The threats of 2025 have shown that attackers can and will hit anyone – from state governments to local utilities – and that the consequences can be sweeping. For organizations that are serious about protecting their operational networks and sensitive data, investing in encryption hardware isn’t just about checking a compliance box; it’s about building resilience.