A camera recognizes employees’ faces and hails an elevator programmed to bring them to their floor. Sensors on the walls measure particles and CO2 levels in meeting rooms, pumping in fresh air when levels rise too high. Higher levels of certain particles mean it is more likely that viruses could be present. In a control room, big screens show every floor in the 23-story building.
By Tom Shircliff, Principal, Intelligent Buildings
We all know about cybersecurity risks either firsthand or from the headlines that tell of high-profile incidents involving credit card records, government records, corporate email and social media accounts. Add to that critical infrastructure incidents involving municipal water systems and gasoline pipelines, along with more threats from nation states, including Iran and Russia.
Before the Russian troops and tanks moved into Ukraine, Microsoft got alerts for new malware aimed at government systems in the besieged Eastern European nation, according to the New York Times.
But to assume that cyberattacks will direct themselves only to government systems and not to companies located in countries that have attracted Putinian ire would be foolish.
By Tom Shircliff, Vice President, Intelligent Buildings
No matter what business you are in, it’s almost surely conducted inside of four walls of commercial real estate including office, industrial, mixed use, healthcare etc. This means, like or not you are exposed to significant operational interruption because of the many digital systems that are required to allow occupancy. To make it worse, those contractors that manage and mismanage those systems don’t work for you and are several layers away from a risk manager, CIO or other accountable roles.
We are alerting you that we recently detected and eliminated a Russian malware attack on a commercial real estate building through our multi-dimensional managed service protection. We are linking the incident to Russia based on a bulletin about a specific malware threat from CISA naming the malware that we discovered.
ICYMI: Intelligent Buildings spotlights APC Smart-UPS TLStorm vulnerabilities that allow attackers to cause cyber and physical damage through undetected remote access.
SUMMARY
Over 20 million APC Smart-UPS (or uninterruptible power supply) devices are currently deployed worldwide. These devices are widely used in Commercial Real Estate, banking, hospitals, data centers, and media. Armis security researchers found a flaw, dubbed TLStorm, that allows attackers to take over these devices remotely. TLStorm has two critical vulnerabilities:
One in a design flaw, in which firmware upgrades of all Smart-UPS devices are not properly signed and validated
One in the TLS implementation used by both Cloud-connected Smart-UPS devices and a third critical vulnerability
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Jan. 25, 2022) – Intelligent Buildings, LLC announced the promotion of Amanda Loeffert to director of content strategy. Her new role will lead company efforts to create a compelling content and marketing strategy that supports key business initiatives.
Loeffert joined Intelligent Buildings in 2018 and has extensive experience in marketing, content creation and professional writing. In this new role, Loeffert will lead the company’s internal and external content and marketing efforts across all channels, ensuring cohesive, strategic and branded content.
“Amanda’s work over the last four years has proven her creativity and comprehensive knowledge of the field,” said Greg Hoogerland, president of Intelligent Buildings. “Her adept understanding of the company makes her a skilled leader and effective marketer. We trust her to tell the story of Intelligent Buildings and the clients we serve through dynamic content and strategic marketing.”
Loeffert previously served the company as a technical writer and manager of shared services. Prior to joining Intelligent Buildings, Loeffert exercised her knowledge of the communication industry as a lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
“I am confident that this role will enable me to better utilize my skills and create success for the company,” said Loeffert. “I have grown tremendously in my time here and am ready to lead in a new way as director of content strategy.”
Loeffert earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Outside of work, she enjoys rock climbing and supports the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). To learn more about the Intelligent Buildings team and work, visit IntelligentBuildings.com.
About Intelligent Buildings, LLC
Intelligent Buildings® is the only company focused on Smart Building advisory, assessment, and managed services at scale for both new projects and existing portfolios. We help our customers manage risk, enhance occupant well-being, and continually improve performance by providing unmatched expertise, practical recommendations, and targeted services. Since 2004, we are the most trusted and experienced name in Smart Building services. Learn more at IntelligentBuildings.com.
Company expands workforce to keep up with growing demand
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Jan. 18, 2022) – Intelligent Buildings, LLC announced today it has brought on additional teammates to support its growth and goals for this year: Shannon Smith, director of software development (Charlotte, NC); Sean Kennedy, director of client services (Carmel, IN); Chad Andre, senior consultant (Midway, GA); Alexis Johnson, senior consultant (Prattville, AL); Cameron Schwisow, senior consultant (Liberty Lake, WA); Andy Fiore, senior project manager (Wilmington, NC); and Erin Wiltse, project manager (Charlotte, NC).
“These bright and leading-edge teammates will provide the depth and variety of industry experience to meet the needs of our growing company and clients,” said Greg Hoogerland, president of Intelligent Buildings. “Despite the volatility of the last two years, Intelligent Buildings has continued to expand to meet the demands of customers and the industry as a whole, and we look forward to future innovation and creative problem-solving with the help of these teammates.”
Each individual serves a unique purpose in the role assigned. Shannon Smith will be leading development efforts in the company’s managed services division. Sean Kennedy will focus on the company’s managed services by providing sales and client services support. Chad Andre, Alexis Johnson and Cameron Schwisow will join the consulting team and focus primarily on private-sector customers to support the company’s Smart Building advisory services. Andy Fiore and Erin Wiltse will provide project management services, enabling the engagement teams focus on working directly with and enhancing service to clients.
To learn more about the Intelligent Buildings team and work, visit IntelligentBuildings.com. Click here for headshots of these new teammates.
About Intelligent Buildings, LLC
Intelligent Buildings® is the only company focused on Smart Building advisory, assessment, and managed services at scale for both new projects and existing portfolios. We help our customers manage risk, enhance occupant well-being, and continually improve performance by providing unmatched expertise, practical recommendations, and targeted services. Since 2004, we are the most trusted and experienced name in Smart Building services. Learn more at IntelligentBuildings.com.
2021 will be remembered as yet another unprecedented year for all of us.
Professionally and personally, everyone has had to continue to adapt to changes. Notwithstanding all of this, Intelligent Buildings has played a part in helping the industry establish the new normal while also achieving some important milestones.
Several of our executives were appointed to industry positions recognizing our continuing thought leadership.
Tom Shircliff has been named Co-Chair of the Counselors of Real Estate External Affairs committee, that creates the well-known “Top Ten Trends Affecting Commercial Real Estate.”
Fred Gordy continues to drive the cybersecurity issue in the industry through considerable volunteer efforts building a Cybersecurity Framework with BuildingCybersecurity.org, as well as being quoted in the Wall Street Journal article “Why Hackers Love Smart Buildings”
Rob Murchison has been recognized for his leadership role with the APPA Higher Education Facilities Professional Affairs Committee.
We are excited about our growth coming out of the pandemic, with…
Thousands of cybersecurity site assessments and expansion of our managed services along with new projects in New York, Chicago, Singapore, Toronto, Atlanta, Seattle, and others.
Our work this year spanning corporate, commercial, higher-ed, healthcare, and technology
Additionally, we would like to congratulate a customer and friend Chip Pierpont upon his recent retirement for a highly impactful career with the General Services Administration (GSA).
Under Chip’s leadership, the GSALink program (the GSA’s national fault detection and diagnostics platform) has taken in 89-billion-point samples, with a $73 million total estimated cost impact in FY2021 alone, along with an industry-leading OT cybersecurity regiment.
Several other Intelligent Buildings customers and industry friends won awards at the 2021 Realcomm | IBcon conference
Ilan Zachar of Carr Properties and Clayton Ulrich of Hines, who received digital impact awards
Marc Petock, who received a lifetime achievement award.
We would like to congratulate them and express our gratitude for the long-standing relationship we share and their role in the smart building industry.
From all of us at Intelligent Buildings, we look forward to a safe and exciting year ahead and wish our customers and partners all the best in 2022.
Tom Shircliff joins Michael in Studio One to discuss the challenges and solutions for property owners and business leaders.
Okay, we want our people to be able to work from home, office or anywhere. We want smart, safe, well buildings bringing our people together. We need building and information cyber security. Don’t forget we must protect company information and intellectual property. Let’s add our desire for effective productivity, recruiting, on-boarding, collaboration, training, and retention. Where do we turn?
