Foreign adversaries are increasingly targeting the power grids, water systems, and local infrastructure communities rely on every day — not through traditional military means, but through cyberattacks aimed at systems that are often under-resourced and locally run. These threats are accelerating: artificial intelligence is lowering the barrier to entry for attackers, automating reconnaissance, and enabling more convincing social engineering at a scale and speed utilities have never had to defend against before. Rural and municipal electric utilities, which power much of Arkansas, are exactly this kind of target: critical to daily life, and rarely equipped with the same cybersecurity resources as major metropolitan utilities.

Defense leaders, investors, and community partners are invited to the unveiling of next-generation technologies designed to support warfighting objectives by startups from around the country.

The Forge Institute has announced an expanded lineup of prominent federal, defense, and industry leaders scheduled to speak at the 2026 Forge Summit. With registration now open, the summit serves as the premier gathering for intelligence, cybersecurity, and technology leaders in America’s heartland working to secure national defense, critical infrastructure, and regional economic resilience.