Federal Buildings Face Merged Security and Facilities Management Challenges
Federal buildings are experiencing a significant shift where facilities management and information security are merging, a change that was not necessarily planned but is now underway. Historically, operational technology (OT) networks, such as building automation systems, were isolated from enterprise IT networks. However, modern facilities increasingly see OT and IT sharing the same physical infrastructure, like structured cabling and switching. While OT traffic is logically segregated into its own VLANs, this integration means building systems are no longer physically isolated and fall under the purview of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for defense. Devices within these systems, such as field controllers, now authenticate users, hold credentials, run patchable firmware, and export data, making them information systems regardless of their traditional labels. This integration brings them under the scope of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), requiring agencies to secure these s...
