Building Management System Vulnerabilities - Term Paper Example

Running Head: Intelligent Building Management Name Institution Course Date INTELLIGENT BUILDING MANAGEMENT Introduction Building being human practice dating back to the roman empire has been evolving and gaining new forms with time. The most significant changes that are mainly focused on when looking at the history of building construction begun with the invention of modern technology that saw to it that many practices that were earlier done by hand were automated. before then building practice was conventional; which was characterized by minimal integration of the then analogue systems. Due to this the systems operated independently which had negative impacts on the outcome of the construction ranging from, low quality of production, high exposure to accidents on workers, high costs of labor which was due to the high dependence on human workforce, high material wastage and environmental pollution at the construction site. (Brooks, 2012). Between 1981 and 1990 building was automated, during this period construction was characterized by more emphasis being put on tenant services, telecommunication infrastructure was no longer monopolized hence massive reduction in costs. In the same phase there was invention of automatic temperature readers, automated fire alarm among other systems. It however failed due concern over security and integrity. after the realization that the tenant's requirements could not be met by technology alone came the second generation of Intelligent Building Systems which begun with responsive building which was between 1991 and1996,in this phase more concern was put to the ability of a building to be responsive to change which necessitated the understanding of a building's life cycle. The total integration concept was used and specific structures were allocated specific life spans. The third generation was termed as responsive building which focused on creating facilities that contributed to the business of tenants, this was the main goal of this phase of building technology was not the main concern but the tenant's business. After the year 2010 begun a new phase of construction; Intelligent building which can be defined as building systems that integrates technology and process by a centralized interface to attain safer, comfortable and productive facility that is operationally efficient to the owner, the advanced technology and process combined with improved process for design and long term sustainable value bring better-quality indoor comfort ,productivity at low energy consumption and low operation staffing (Cotts et. al 2009). The realization of intelligent building is owed to the development of micro-computers and the internet that has allowed for efficient communication which have made office operations versatile, reliable and user friendly. the development of the internet has in the recent past moved from office buildings and is now part of even residential buildings which has made the adoption of intelligent building not only inevitable but also fast. The development of intelligent building have come with an environmental conservation campaign dubbed "green buildings" this is a clear depiction of how intelligent building all inclusive of both human and the environment's welfare by minimizing energy consumption and pollutant effluents (Duffy, 1988). This article is going to look into the development of intelligent buildings, its applications and benefits, security relationships, the vulnerable aspects in the Intelligent Buildings. The article will give the overview of the technology of Intelligent building management systems, list and discuss a security manager's considerations in an intelligent Building system. Discussion Typically an Intelligent Building Management system is one that integrates and controls all the equipment in the collection of buildings namely power, lighting, elevators and moving passages, heat ventilation and air conditioning, fire and life safety systems, surveillance and other security systems. An intelligent building is equipped with advanced services of business transactions, automation of systems and telecommunication services to ensure comfort and maximum profitability for both the client and the owner (McDowall, 2007). Software and hardware An intelligent building's software architecture is classified into three main segments; the field level, automation and management level. The field level whose hardware components are sensors and actuators for example in the case of temperature a thermostat can be used as a thermometer and actuators are a fan that reduces temperature in the case of a temperature higher than the desired or an electric heater to increase temperatures in case of a temperature reading lower than is desired (Brooks, 2013). The software in this level are proprietary software, each company makes their own controllers that suit specific applications and a Meter-Bus which is a low cost bus system for remote reading and powering utility meters, this connects the field level to the automation level which is divided into two room automation and control. Room automation is connected to the field through KNX which is a networking solution for building technology. There is also a Local Area Network that connects the field to the automation level. The primary automation level which is the control is the web. The automation level is then connected to the management level by Building and Automation Control network, which is a set of rules governing the exchange of data over a computer network for building automation and control or Ethernet, Optical fiber Attached Resource Computer Network or a wireless network. The management level is purely connected to the automation level through the web to enable local and remote management of the systems (Cherry, 1986). The input and output systems are either analog or digital. Analog inputs are mainly used for inconsistent measurements like humidity, temperature, and pressure. Analog outputs control the speed and position of variable frequency devices like damper actuators and current to pneumatic transducers (Langston, 2002). Digital input devices operate with either on or off, an example is an air-flow switch that goes off in one of three pressure points; low pressure, high pressure or differential pressure. Digital outputs operate on open and close switches an example is to turn ON security lights when a photocell indicates it is dark outside and turn OFF security lights when a photocell indicates it is bright outside. Typical applications of Intelligent Building Management considering the fact that an intelligent building is meant to maximize energy saving and comfort of tenants it is designed to become a sustainable model. the applications range from indoor air quality services, heating ventilation and air conditioning maintenance services, fire detection and alarm systems, Security and access control limited to specific personnel, Digital video recording for purposes of surveillance, Intrusion detection services, smoke control and lighting control and retrofit which are applicable both indoors and outdoors for security and comfort factors e.g. parking lot lighting which act as vision aids and security. water usage and disposal management, Enterprise systems integration, mechanical maintenance and retrofit asset locator, environmental control, energy supply and load management. Close cable television is an invention that is used in the intelligent buildings for surveillance and security (Duffy, 1988). Direct current lighting bulbs that are energy saving and are recommended by the "green movement" a good example are LED lights. escalators, elevators and lifts are automated movement machines that are operated by electric power and are connected to back-up generators that ensure occupants of smart building are always on the move. there has been a campaign that aims at making all the intelligent building utilize solar power for indoor heating and other low power consuming applications. Benefits of IB Intelligent buildings are meant to provide maximum benefits to users, owners and other affected parties e.g. the government, environmentalists and energy regulatory commissions. The following are benefits of a fully integrated intelligent building maximum tenant satisfaction. This is brought about by the indoor and outdoor amenities that are available in the intelligent building at lower costs compared to earlier building technologies. tenant satisfaction is also guaranteed by security amenities that are stand-alone. The development of intelligent building has made the quest to conquer and occupy the skies easy by ensuring that no matter how high a building is the automated systems are able to work efficiently (McDowall, 2007). Communication and security systems ensure comfort all through the sky scrapers, this is because of the utilization of Local Area Networks and the web. Before the intelligent building error, construction of sky risers took a long time, intelligent buildings now take less than a half of the time it used to take earlier for completion of the building (David, Cotts, and Kathy, 2009). Among the many benefits of intelligent buildings is the guaranteed safety of construction workers, this is because of the emergence of automated lifts that ferry construction material up and down the buildings, their strengths of the building are able to be measured with modern technology and safety factors ensured (Brooks, 2012). According to Hatori and Sikiba, (1988), the use of Information Communication Technology systems has reduced the space at which control systems occupied in earlier systems. This is because the transmission of signal in the new technology is wireless, this has helped in eradicating bulk in the intelligent buildings and created space for other income generating uses (Duffy, 1988). Due to the significant in reduction of space for control procedures there has be consequent reduction in the sizes of control teams, security personnel and maintenance staff since automated systems are equipped with self diagnostics and self maintenance procedures hence low requirement of manpower. Automated systems that are installed in intelligent building are able to work round the clock, this means there is 24 hour air conditioning, surveillance ,fire outbreak response and other important services offered by smart buildings. Reporting and auditing in intelligent buildings has been made easier since metering is automated and available in digital readings hence meters can be read by everyone from tenants to management staff. meters are also able to be accessed remotely which is convenient in time and energy saving. Reduced cost of operation is one of the significant benefits of intelligent building. This has been due to several factors, according to Kua and Lee (2002). Operation costs take up to fifty percent of the total cost of construction with thirty percent being labor costs. The reduction of need for manpower in construction sites due to the use of machinery has made a significant drop in the total cost of construction (Langston and Lauge-Kristensen, 2002). It is very true that the total Cost of construction was very high when there was still a need to hire people to carry out what machines are currently doing. According to Albert and Chan, (1999), the use of modern technology for security, maintenance, and controls has significantly dropped in the intelligent building error which makes maintenance and the daily expenditure of the building low. The financial factor in intelligent buildings can be summarized to "more for less" management of Intelligent building is not a light task since it is the sole responsibility of a facility manager to ensure adherence to existing statutes and comply with the international regulations of construction procedures and pushing workers to achieving desired results. After construction there is need for repairs and maintenance periodically (Langston and Lauge-Kristensen, 2002) . It is also the role of a facility manager to ensure social risk is highly evaded by having an active insurance policy, wide knowledge of common law and a proper understanding of existing statutes e.g. Building Code of Austarlia which was published in 1988 by the Australian building codes Board. All managers are expected to carry out routine check in order to ensure all building or construction rules are followed on the site. In case where a person fails to stick to the rules, the site manager is expected to carry out the necessary actions. A typical Intelligent Building integrates diverse subsystems into a common and open data communication network, using both software and hardware in spite of this intelligent buildings are exposed to diverse generic vulnerabilities (Show-Ling, 1993a). Some of the common vulnerabilities include limited knowledge of security threats, unlike the historic past where buildings were only exposed to physical intrusion, cyber crime is on the rise in the current world and intelligent buildings even with local networks can be hacked and accessed remotely and useful information can be stolen. The limited knowledge of security threats then leads to System exposure to threat, which is a vulnerability since then there is no security measures put in place to mitigate this threat (Show-Ling, 1993b). Physical access to some areas of the system is a vulnerability when the physical access to some areas of the system is used to undermine the security of tenants and clients of an intelligent building. physical access enables intrudes to physically install viruses in the system which can undermine the normal operation of automatic systems(Hwa-Tung Institute of Architectural Design, 1996). Physical access can also provide for the intruder to physically damage the network of the building. Compromised networks, this is another word for hacking of systems by bypassing existing firewalls, and any other means for malicious intentions. This then renders the quest by intelligent building to provide security to tenants a pipe dream (Asia Institute Intelligent Building Webs, 2001). Intrusion of foreign devices, this is achieved by an intruder when a network of an intelligent building is not protected and can be logged on to by external devices, these devices can the assume the role of a server and misuse the automated systems (Brooks, 2012). Limited physical security, this renders an intelligent building exposed to physical robbery, destruction of property and even terrorism acts. Reliance on utility power makes an intelligent building "not-intelligent" when the utility power goes off (Duffy, 1988). This is a problem that is common in the third world and is experienced in a few cases like during disasters and other physical occurrences that make utility power unavailable. In high rising buildings that cannot be served by staircases the loss of power then renders locomotion difficult and in adverse cases impossible. Local area networks that are used in intelligent buildings use 64-bit key encryption which is relatively short and is easier to crack. There is also definition of when authentication should be used, authentication is not possible with Unique_Node_ID addressing. Local area network is also exposed to unprotected data transmission using wireless technology. It is then necessary for contingency strategies to be developed to mitigate loss of life, theft of physical property, theft of private information, terrorism acts in intelligent buildings since the main reason for the ground breaking inventions that have ensured the development of stand-alone systems in the building industry is to avert the occurrences of inconveniences but rather to maximize comfort and profitability. In securing intelligent buildings the following are important physical securing of intelligent buildings include, combining multiple barriers to access such as building, room, and cabinet access control (Duffy, 1988). Locating mission critical devices in access controlled areas or in locked cabinets. Preventing unauthorized physical access to network devices such as firewalls, switches, and routers is a must, guard communication cable runs with channel or rough cable chases. Protecting network framework can be achieved by cutting off the Intelligent Building Management System as much as possible (McDowall, 2007). Establishing it on a virtual local area network (VLAN), for instance, makes sure that structure traffic, comprising of broadcasts to all stations, remains within the reasonable border you created. • Think cautiously before giving out exterior access and each and every network exit and entry points are very important and must be secured. Access should only be given when there is a good reason and that way people can minimize risks. Security costs can also be reduce by placing a firewall at every changeover point or entry into the network. In managing user accounts it is necessary to further curb user access by coming up with authorization necessities for every individual devices such as servers, routers, workstations and embedded controllers. The kind of machine will decide the best way to take. Restricting remote access can be achieved by making use of a protected connection, such as a Virtual Private Network, which offers authentication and encryption of remote conferences. • Use recommended protected procedures and applications for instance SCP/SFTP, SSH, and HTTPS, whenever probable and never make use of File Transfer Protocol and Telnet. • Estimate the dangers related to SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) prior to integrating it into your plan. When using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), reduce access to approved system supervisors with known Internet Protocol addresses. • Limiting remote right of entry by using Two-factor verification and by controlling access to authorized users only, for instance system users. • To establish public right of entry to information, develop a demilitarized zone (DMZ), put a server machine within the precinct, and mirror the needed info onto the server. REFERENCES Albert, T., and Chan, W., (1999). Intelligent Building Systems: Kluwer Academic Publishers Architecture and Building Research Institute, (2001) Evaluation Manual for Green Buildings in Taiwan Asia Institute Intelligent Building Webs http://www.asian-iib.org, (2001) Brooks, D., (2012). Security threats and risks of Intelligent Building Systems: Protecting facilities from current and emerging vulnerabilities. Cherry, D.T. (1986). Total facility control. Butterworth Publishers. Covello, V.T. & Mumpower, J. (1986). Risk analysis and risk management: A historical perspective. In V.T.Covello, J.Menkes, & J.Mumpower (Eds). Risk Evaluation and management. Plenum, New York. David G. Cotts PE CFM and Kathy O. Roper CFM LEED AP (2009) The facility Management Handbook Duffy, F (1988). “The shape of the future”, Intelligent BuildingsGroover, M.P. (2008) Automation, , Prentice Hall, NJ, USA.(2010) production systems, and computer integrated manufacturing Duffy, F., (1998). The shape of the future, Intelligent Buildings Hatori, M., and Sikiba, H., (1988). Intelligent Buildings, Japanese Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers Hwa-Tung Institute of Architectural Design (1996). Design Technology for Intelligent Buildings Information Technology and Solution of Japan (1990). Compact Intelligent Building Guidelines, Gvousei Kua, H., and Lee, S., (2002). Demonstration Intelligent Building - A methodology for the Promotion of Total Sustainability in the Built Environment Langston, C., & Lauge-Kristensen, R. (2002). Strategic management of built facilities. Butterworth Heinemann. SCY1108 Study Guide. (2008). Module 1: What is facility management? Perth: Edith Cowan University. Langston, C., and Lauge-Kristensen. R., (2002). Strategic Management of Built Facilities. McDowall, (2007). Fundamentals of HVAC Systems. Waltham, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Smith & Brooks, (2013). Security Science: The Theory and Practice of Security. Waltham, MA: Butterworth Heinemann. Show-Ling, W., (1993a). Study on Characteristics of Intelligent Buildings in Taiwan Show-Ling, W., and Qing-Y, H., (1993b). Characteristics Study on Performance of Automation Facilities for Intelligent Office Buildings in Taiwan. Show-Ling, W., and Qing-Y, H., (2000). 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