In this era of “smart” buildings, connectivity and technology are being incorporated at unprecedented scales. An incapacitated elevator, a gas leak in the heating system, an HVAC cyber security breach or a complete unanticipated building lockdown are simple examples of the catastrophic effects of a critical infrastructure hack or malfunction in BMS security. Unfortunately, these are not hypothetical scenarios, and present new challenges to prevent damage, loss and even the loss of human lives in the Building Management System (or Building Automation System) industry and the communities they serve.
Maintaining real-time situational awareness and operational reliability and the ability to independently detect any operations anomaly give operators the chance to visualize the most authentic, real-time, real-life situation of the infrastructure and ensure critical asset management, operational reliability, process optimization and protect human life.
Although network firewalls and security systems offer increased security by establishing a defensive barrier between a trusted internal network and an untrusted external network by monitoring the network level for the BMS system, PLCs remain vulnerable and eventually can be compromised with potential catastrophic consequences.