Nigel Thomas, national specification and project sales manager at ABB Electrification, discusses the ways in which implementing BMS can expose healthcare estates to critical vulnerabilities, and explains how estates teams can implement the correct cybersecurity safeguards.
Intelligent and efficient building management systems (BMS) are the future of healthcare infrastructure. But in the same server rooms that control temperature, adjust airflow, and regulate power consumption across sprawling estates, critical vulnerabilities lie. Every sensor, touchpad, USB port, and cloud-linked energy monitor is a potential doorway for malicious actors.
This is the upgrade paradox. The very technologies that hospitals use to meet the challenges of an ageing population and Net Zero commitments are simultaneously expanding their attack surface. And as healthcare estates become more digitalised, the consequences of a breach extend far beyond stolen data — they could directly threaten patient safety.
According to the Centre for Ageing Better, the number of people aged 65-79 in the UK is predicted to increase by nearly a third to over 10 million in the next 40 years, while the number of people aged 80 and over is set to more than double to over six million. These patients are more sensitive to poorly managed ventilation and heating, and are significantly more vulnerable in the event of power failure.
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