Building Automation System Cybersecurity

OT & IoT Cybersecurity for Building Management Systems

Today, almost every new building larger than 100,000 sq/ft (or 10,000 sq/m) is engineered to be a smart building. That is, they rely on building automation systems (BAS) comprising thousands of IoT and OT devices, sensors and networks to keep occupants comfortable and safe. These assets also introduce cyber risk, especially if unprotected and exposed to the internet. To maintain operational resilience, facility managers and their cybersecurity counterparts must be able to identify and monitor all connected devices and prioritize remediation based on risk.

The Nozomi Networks platform is purpose-built to protect OT and IoT networks in commercial, residential and industrial environments from cyber and operational risk. It provides the teams responsible for BAS with real-time visibility, asset inventory, AI-powered continuous monitoring and threat intelligence, so they can detect anomalies, failing OT and IoT devices, and network stability issues before they cause disruption.

Building Management Systems Face Four Major Challenges

Unclear System Ownership

During construction, BAS installation often goes to the lowest-bidding system integrator. Commercial owners then hire a facility management company. Physical assets are out of scope for corporate IT teams, so BAS cybersecurity falls between the cracks.

“Set It and Forget It”

Smart building devices must be powerful enough to perform complex automation tasks but simple to maintain. When devices are connected over an open network, this combination creates a large and vulnerable attack surface.

Remote Access Free-for-All

Highly customized for each building, BAS depend wholly on local service contractors for maintenance. There’s a steady stream of vendors logging into the network, with scant endpoint security.

Flat Architecture WANs

Most large companies operate wide area networks (WANs) with flat architectures lacking firewalls and segmentation. Without cyber defenses in place, large OT/IoT networks are attractive targets for launching enterprise-side exploitations.

“Nozomi Networks provides asset, process and network visibility across multi-dimensional vectors. It provides detection capabilities which map against MITRE Attack Frameworks.”

What I like most: Ease of use and intuitive user interface, compliance reporting, remediation recommendations.

- VP, IT Security and Risk Management, Real Estate, $3B-10B USD

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Benefits of Our Cybersecurity Solutions for Smart Buildings

Automate asset inventory to identify and manage heterogeneous IoT devices and BAS that run autonomously.

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Detect any cyber or operational threat so you can pinpoint the risks that matter most before incidents impact occupants and visitors.

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Prioritize and accelerate remediation with actionable intelligence and playbooks to address the most critical vulnerabilities and risks.

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Scale continuous OT & IoT monitoring within large locations and across geographically dispersed portfolios.

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Cybersecurity Regulatory Compliance for Smart Buildings

The U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy includes Commercial Facilities as one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose assets, systems and networks must be secure and resilient. Includes sites such stadiums, retail centers, office and apartment buildings, lodging and casinos.

The EU’s NIS2 Directive (effective October 2024) requires operators of medium to large enterprises to implement security measure to provide resilience against attacks. This includes sectors such as health, food, digital infrastructures, research, transport and public administration.