Attend Introductory, Advanced Cybersecurity Workshops May 28 & 29

15 May 2015 --- The risk: attackers exploiting building systems to gain unauthorized access to facilities; causing physical destruction of building equipment; infecting or sabotaging traditional information technology (IT) systems and data; and exposing an organization to significant financial obligations to contain and eradicate malware or recover from a cyber event. Sound scary? It is.

The threats are real. Internet-enabled building control systems provide critical services that allow a building to meet the functional and operational needs of building occupants. However, once installed, many of these systems have minimal protections to keep hackers out. The National Institute of Building Sciences is sponsoring introductory and advanced  Cybersecurity Workshops Thursday, May 28, and Friday, May 29, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, to help facility professionals learn how to make their buildings more secure and reduce the risks.

From residential heating and automated entry systems to commercial facility monitoring systems of all kinds, buildings in the United States have seen a rise in the use of “smart” systems to improve their functionality in the past several years. Yet, with this increasing reliance on operational technology, very few people are aware of the potential threats from hackers and others with malicious intent. In a world where companies and individuals are increasingly at risk of having their personal data and assets compromised, it is imperative that building owners also protect their properties and building occupants from cyber threats and potential harm.

The  Introduction to Cybersecuring Building Control Systems Workshop and the  Advanced Cybersecuring Building Control Systems Workshop, both taught by Michael Chipley of The PMC Group LLC, are geared to help architects, engineers, contractors, owners, facility managers, maintenance engineers, physical security specialists, information assurance professionals—essentially anyone involved with implementing cybersecurity in the facility life cycle—to learn the best practice techniques to better protect their facilities.

The  Introduction to Cybersecuring Building Control Systems Workshop is geared to those professionals new to the world of building cybersecurity. This course provides a combination of classroom learning modules and hands-on laboratory exercises using tools. The  Advanced Cybersecuring Building Control Systems Workshop is geared towards building and information assurance professionals who have experience in IT or control systems cybersecurity but need to learn how to apply those skills to building control systems. This course provides a more technical, in-depth training solution geared towards developing security professionals with the ability to approach security with an attacker mentality.

Attendees will need a laptop with administrative privileges to load software for either workshop. They will receive the course content, tools and lab exercises on a CD at the beginning of the course.

Registration for each workshop is $600 per person. Space is limited to 20 students per day. Don’t miss your spot.  Register now.

Can’t make the May workshops? No problem. The workshop series continues monthly throughout the year.  View the full schedule.

About the National Institute of Building Sciences

The  National Institute of Building Sciences, authorized by public law 93-383 in 1974, is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that brings together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to identify and resolve building process and facility performance problems. The Institute serves as an authoritative source of advice for both the private and public sectors with respect to the use of building science and technology.