Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1132978
July/August/September 2019 I 47 devices both across the cloud and within facilities. Even better, because BACnet/SC is based off of common IT standards like fire- walls and dynamic IP addresses, it will be much easier for IT departments to work with BAS professionals to manage their networks, because there will be greater common ground. MOVING FORWARD: IT AND BAS Undoubtedly, BACnet/SC is a progressive move in the right direction. It is only the first step though in what IT and BAS can accomplish together. As the industry awaits its ratification, it is a good time for IT and facilities managers to increase collaboration for the many non-BACnet/SC initiatives that need to be accomplished, including maintaining device ID lists, updating physical security, and resetting default passwords on BAS vendor devices. Arguably, after security, the most important of all is creating a system for tagging data, which IT has been proficient at for years, in order to advance the BAS and smart building development. Trends in the industry are reported to be "more around software-based BACnet gateways (to eliminate the need of imple- menting BACnet on end-devices), native BACnet support, and cloud- based BACnet communication. There is also a fair amount of use of BACnet over wireless, which could be one of the possible focus areas for enhancement in the standard. There may also be the possibility of BACnet interface/integration with IoT multi- layer frameworks. An example of this could be a go-iot.io software-gateway to connect BACnet networks with the IBM Watson IoT Platform." 9 Time is of the essence. ASHRAE needs to continue to keep its focus on security. It is also crucial that IT and facilities managers work together to develop the best cyber and physical security systems possible or the BAS can be decimated. There are still thousands of unrepentant Mitnicks ready to pounce. BIOGRAPHIES: Daniel Tan has a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree with a focus on computer engineering. He has a great deal of experience with smart building technology and building automation systems, and he was key in developing the software for Optigo Networks' BAS monitoring and troubleshooting platform. Daniel has advanced skills with statistical programming languages and a keen attention to detail. He can be reached at daniel.tan@optigo.net. Jeff Downton is an expert in distributed and scalable computing. He has a proven track record of managing technical teams and successfully delivering analytical projects to market. With a strong back- ground in high-tech startups, he has worked in verticals which span from real estate to gaming analytics, including a significant period of time devoted to big data analytics in the healthcare space. Jeff provides the leadership team with the technological perspectives to make timely and accurate decisions. Jeff can be reached at jeff.downton@ca.at.com. REFERENCES: 1. Sjouwerman, Stu, World's Most Famous Hacker Kevin Mitnick: IoT Is Exploitable, Security Awareness Training Blog, June 26, 2017, knowbe4.com, https:// blog.knowbe4.com/worlds-most-famous- hacker-kevin-mitnick-iot-is-exploitable 2. Fisher, David. Isler, Bernhard. Osborne, Michael., BACnet Secure Connect, White paper, p. 3, 2018 3. Princeton University: Shining a Light on Princeton's Network Problems, Case study, Optigo Networks Inc., www.optigo.net. 4. Lee, Joseph, IoT and DDoS: Cyberattacks on the Rise, August 14, 2018, A10 Networks, Inc, https://www.a10networks.com/blog/ iot-and-ddos-cyberattacks-rise/. 5. Figure 5, © 2019 Optigo Networks Inc. All rights reserved. 6. Ibid 7. BACnet–The Backbone of Building Automation, February 27, 2018, Softdel, http://testprizm.softdel.com/insight/ BACnet-The-backbone-of-building- automation 8. Figure 8, © 2019 Optigo Networks Inc. All rights reserved. 9. BACnet–The Backbone of Building Automation, February 27, 2018, Softdel, http://testprizm.softdel.com/insight/ BACnet-The-backbone-of-building- automation.