With the conference quickly approaching, we wanted to share with you the agenda (see below) for the Commercial and Corporate Real Estate Cybersecurity Forum. Much of the content for this Forum was developed from the ongoing work of the Real Estate Cyber Consortium.

Over the past decade, weaponized code delivered by malicious actors has evolved to be one of the greatest threats to our country’s welfare and economy. Cybercrime affects everyone, including individuals, businesses, organizations and government. It was inevitable that cyber threats would eventually find vulnerable commercial real estate targets, both at the enterprise and infrastructure level.

Cybersecurity as it impacts the built environment remains one of the most requested topics in our industry. This Forum will bring together industry thought leaders to address the most high-impact cyber threats and leverage their experience and knowledge to set benchmarks for cybersecurity strategy.

AGENDA

Real Estate Cyber Consortium (RECC) – An Industry Responds
There is no doubt that building cybersecurity is one of the most important issues facing our industry. The potential for human harm, business disruption, damage to brand and financial loss is high, and is finally getting attention in boardrooms everywhere. While Real Estate cybersecurity has been a discussion for years, it has now reached the point where it requires a more organized, consistent and comprehensive approach. Over the last 18 months, a group of dedicated organizations have been putting together a framework for the Real Estate Cyber Consortium (RECC). Representing some of the top real estate organizations in the world, this group is focusing on creating a consortium that can respond to this growing threat. This segment will provide an executive overview of RECC.

Leveraging Resources and Experience – DOD, ICS-CERT, ISA and the PNNL Weigh In
Keeping pace with the changing nature of cybersecurity is a daunting task. Offense is easy: pick a target and launch an attack. Defense on the other hand is almost impossible, requiring one to prepare for every possible threat from a disgruntled employee to a mischievous nation state. To maintain a reasonable defense strategy, it is critical to leverage as many resources as feasibly possible. In the United States, these are the organizations that focus specifically on the topic of cyber defense for buildings: The Department of Defense (DOD), Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT), International Society of Automation (ISA) and Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL). They all have dedicated resources managing cybersecurity for the built environment and will participate in this important session.

Cyber Maturity Benchmarking Assessment – Where Does Your Organization Stand?
It has been more than five years since the Commercial and Corporate Real Estate industry began to focus on cybersecurity as it relates to the built environment, with organizations moving at varying speeds on their cyber programs. Given the complexity of threats and the critical nature of this issue, it is important to look to outside resources to assess an organization’s cyber maturity. How comprehensive is the cyber strategy? How does the organization compare to peers? Are the Cyber policies and programs improving over time? These are just a few of the questions that might be addressed in a formal assessment. This segment will be presented by real estate organizations that have experience in working with cyber maturity benchmarking assessments.

Building Automation, Smart Buildings & BIoT – Securing Smart Building Systems & Devices
Over time, building automation has evolved to be more open, integrated and interoperable, resulting in smarter buildings. Most recently, the next generation of building technologies has been referred to as the Internet of Things. This means that equipment other than traditional systems such as HVAC, lighting and access will need to communicate. Parking gates, signage, irrigation, various sensing devices and other systems will be connected to the network. With this expanded interconnectivity, cybersecurity becomes even more of an issue. The more devices, communication methods, software platforms and cloud connections we have, the greater the risk. This segment will address cybersecurity relating to building automation, smart buildings, the IoT and beyond.

Implementing Cyber Risk Assessments for Your Facilities – Real World Approaches
Cyber breach headlines are becoming all too common. We’re now seeing that many real estate organizations have begun the journey into a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. When it comes to understanding and preparing for threats to the physical infrastructure, there’s a wide range of preparedness options. Organizations at the front of this conversation are better at understanding the framework or methodology required to assess, at a fairly granular level, how well prepared a facility is to identify, defend and respond to Cyber threats. A variety of thought leaders will share their real world approaches and lessons learned, and present a framework for tackling assessments, from single assets to entire portfolios.

Raising the bar around Cybersecurity – Partnering with Manufacturers and Solution Providers
The convergence of traditional IT and building technologies is happening at an ever increasing rate. This convergence is having a very disruptive impact on companies as traditional IT controls are being applied to building technologies that, given the age of most of these technologies, have varying degrees of technical sophistication and ability to address these controls. While heavily regulated industries are beginning to feel the impact from IT convergence now, other industries will soon be impacted as many of these changes are necessary to enhance the security and stability of these platforms. This segment will include leading manufacturers of smart building technologies that are ‘leaning in’ to this issue and are willing to create a more secure architecture for smart buildings. We will dive into those areas that are being most impacted by IT convergence and what the industry is doing to help address these issues.

If you are a registered attendee for Realcomm or IBcon, you are invited to attend the Cybersecurity Forum at no charge. Once you’ve registered for the conference, please RESERVE YOUR SEAT using the link below or by contacting Cheri Parr to let her know you are planning to attend. Space is limited so you must RSVP.

Cheri Parr, Program Manager | Phone: 310.421.4362 | cparr@realcomm.com