Is Your Smart Office Creating Backdoors for Cybercriminals?

 

 

 More and more devices are connecting to the Internet; the ones that control your building’s heating, lighting and air conditioning are no exception. Unfortunately, little attention is being paid to the potential cyber security risks created by smart office technology since these devices fall outside the scope of traditional IT. In fact, a recent survey of building automation system (BAS) operators found that only 29 percent had taken action or were in the process of taking action to improve cyber security for their Internet-connected systems.

If compromised, smart-building devices could have a profound impact on our physical surroundings and could allow a malicious actor to cause damage without any physical access to the building. For example, cyber criminals could gain control of the devices that regulate data center temperatures, causing fans to shut down and servers to overheat. Not only do these connected devices impact our physical surroundings, but if they share connections with enterprise IT networks, they could also open a backdoor to company data.

A recent IBM ethical hacking simulation on the smart office shed more light on these risks and vulnerabilities. It also revealed several best practices to keep in mind when it comes to securing smart office and building systems.