AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: Jim Walters, RCDD, RTPM, OSP, DCDC, PMP, CISSP is the Technology Director for Mason and Hanger Architecture and Engineering, where he serves as the market director for telecommunications, Electronic Security, and Cybersecurity. Prior to joining Mason and Hanger, Jim served as an Information Communication Technology and Cyber SME with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He served as the Operational Technology Branch lead and the Policy and Integration Lead in the Army Control Systems Governance Office in the Pentagon and served as the Facility Related Control System Program Manager at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington DC. Jim was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2021 Control System Professional of the Year, he was privileged to have worked on some of the nation’s critical infrastructure. Jim has presented at five BICSI conferences on cybersecurity topics. He can be reached at james.walters@masonandhanger.com
References : 1. BICSI (2024) Information Communication Technology Design and Implementation Practices for Intelligent Buildings and Premises. ANSI/BICSI 007-2024. 2. Barrett, M.P. (2018) ‘The End of Cybersecurity’, Harvard Business Review, 18 October. 3. Wright, V.L. et al. (2023) ‘Cyber-Informed Engineering Implementation Guide: Version 1.0’. Idaho National Laboratory, September. 4. Wright, V.L. et al. (2023) ‘Cyber-Informed Engineering Implementation Guide: Version 1.0’. Idaho National Laboratory, September. 5. Ohrt, A. et al. (2024) ‘Integrating Cyber-Informed Engineering into Enterprise Risk Management’. Idaho National Laboratory, 30 September. 6. ASHB (n.d.) ‘What Is An Intelligent Building? Your Go-To Guide’.
deliver “building owners the flexibility to integrate individual building systems to deliver an enhanced working or living environment for occupants.” 6 Essentially, this alerts designers that a proper business use-case needs to exist for the integration of systems. Without that use case, the design team could simplify and decrease the potential attack vectors by avoiding the integration of systems. This is contrary to putting everything in the data lake and assuming AI will sort it out later. The ICT designer has a significant role in the design simplification process. The expertise to evaluate a structured OT physical Layer 1 versus the systems cabling can help the team produce simpler and lower- risk designs. The ICT designer’s intimate knowledge of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and private 5G, as well as skills in designing Wi-Fi deployments, can support the team in resiliency planning and infrastructure simplification. Finally, the ICT designer has an important role in the centralization of power for these systems with recommendations on Class 2 or fault managed power systems (FMPS). This can provide the opportunity to reduce the quantities of locations for UPS deployments and better manage intelligent building operations. PLANNED RESILIENCE Planning appropriately requires the team to realize that it is not a matter of if a system will be com- promised, but when. Understanding that when compromised, the created value stream can be diminished without completely losing the stream entirely. Sometimes solutions can be in plain sight and should not be overlooked because they appear simple. The concept of cross system connection (XSC) allows for the fact that the attacker may not be all-knowing. Something as simple as adding temperature sensors on an intrusion detection system that alert as backup alarms in addition to those found in the building automation system can provide crucial resilience and warn intelligent building operators that a system is compromised. This work leads the team to consider what diminished capacity can still accomplish the mission.
The ICT designer will assist the team in creating the OT Layer 1 infrastructure that enables the system to “island” and continue to function. INTERDEPENDENCY EVALUATION As more functions move into a cloud environment and manufacturers migrate systems, the team needs to consider cascading effects. Cloud-connected systems allow for real-time monitoring, machine learning-based predictions, and automated optimization. This reliance on cloud service introduces interdependencies that must be evaluated. Designing systems to complete the mission even when information is missing from compromised systems takes a calculated effort for success.
CONCLUSION The constant evolution of threats in the digital world makes it an unreasonable expectation to assume no incursions will occur. The era of providing proper cyber hygiene is no longer sufficient. A proactive approach with the design team focused early on improving outcomes is now required to succeed. Design teams must encourage the expertise of the ICT designer and other building professionals to work together to find solutions that utilize all available toolsets. Such an important endeavor in our field will require the application of digital and non-digital layers working in concert to secure our intelligent buildings.
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ICT TODAY
April/May/June 2025
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