Based on my experience there are so many other security concerns that are being ignored that going and splitting your trunk onto a physically isolated network is a secondary thought. Quite honestly, the concern around if you need an isolated network for building automation systems should be something you think about only if you are in a regulated or DoD environment.
Imagine an employee who works 24 hours a day never stopping, not requiring benefits, with the ability to clearly communicate the needs of your organization to hundreds if not thousands of employees at the same time. Do you see him?
People like shinny new things. Your BAS can be controlling to tolerances tighter then the atomic clock but if it doesn't have a "nice" User Interface your customer will wonder what exactly are they paying you for.
I have had the privilege of working in the automation industry for more than a decade and have seen it move from stand-alone systems all the way to full-blown web-based platforms. However, until recently, we have not had the ability to capture, analyze, and report on massive amounts of data.
A lot of things get better with age, a good wine, a nice dry rubbed steak, a collectible convertible. However, the one item we don't associate with the age/quality relationship is a control system. Yet, in thousands of buildings across the United States the one system that could impact a building's total energy spend by upwards of 20-40% (per the DOE ) remains untouched.
I really do believe in the power of cloud based applications, especially analytics. I realize for some, especially those in the Building Automation Systems sphere cloud based (or if you prefer to call them distributed) analytical solutions are new to the market. Averaging about 2-3 years old the energy analytics market is quickly filling up with analytical solutions.
In this article I am responding to a great question from a fellow LinkedIn group member.
She asked, and I paraphrase, "Do you have any articles about why someone should even care about IT Security for their BAS?"
Prior to reading this article I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you view the video below. This video will give you foundational knowledge of the building automation security topics I will discuss below.
This article is part of a four-part series on BACnet, you can access the other parts below:
This article is part of a four-part series on What is BACnet, you can access the other parts below:
BACnet Part 1: BACnet Overview
BACnet Part 2: Communication 101
BACnet Part 4: BACnet/MSTP
BACnet is the most prevelant protocol in the building automation space but to many it is a six letter word that screams confusion!
