From IoT to Access Control: What Founders Need to Know About Securing Intelligent Spaces

Today’s smartest buildings run on connected devices, but are they secure? As companies race to adopt IoT sensors, automated HVAC, and access controls, physical infrastructure is often left out of cybersecurity conversations. That blind spot can open the door to serious operational risks. This article explores why it’s time to treat your building like a core part of your tech stack and how cross-functional teams can work together to protect it.  

Key Takeaways: 

• Smart buildings are often secured unevenly, with physical IoT devices like HVAC systems and access controls frequently overlooked despite being critical vectors for cyberthreats.
• Cybercriminals can exploit weak credentials, outdated firmware, and poor maintenance in connected devices to access broader building systems and disrupt operations.
• Cross-functional collaboration between IT, facilities, risk, and sustainability teams is essential to establish comprehensive security standards and proactively manage intelligent building systems.

In the push to create smarter, more efficient workplaces, founders often invest heavily in IoT sensors, automated HVAC, and integrated access control. Yet while attention and investment gravitate toward app security and cloud infrastructure, the physical side of connected systems remains underrated. That oversight is not theoretical; it’s built-in.

From weakened credentials to unpatched firmware and forgotten system updates, every device—from a temperature sensor to a CCTV camera—is a potential vector. And once a bad actor gains a foothold, they can move laterally across interconnected systems, putting critical operations at risk. Modern buildings aren’t just real estate anymore. They’re dynamic, data-rich platforms that deserve the kind of cybersecurity discipline traditionally reserved for code and cloud.

Ask any CTO: You don’t leave your production monitoring software unpatched. Founders must come to the same realization about their facilities. This means instilling rigor across selection, deployment, and lifecycle management of every connected device. It also requires clear collaboration among facilities, IT, risk, and sustainability teams.

Let’s break down three actionable steps to bring your building’s security in line with its ambition:

1) Recognize new operational and cybersecurity risks.

Smart buildings embed an array of internet-connected devices, from cameras and sensors to HVAC controls. These tools streamline operations and enable more responsive environments. But in the rush to deploy them, convenience often eclipses security.

As Chris Barns, VP of R&K Solutions, an employee-owned business that helps clients achieve their goals through improved real property portfolio management, writes: “When devices like security cameras, thermostats and access control systems are designed with convenience in mind, the integration process can lead to overlooked security flaws. Weak passwords, unpatched software and outdated firmware are common issues that cybercriminals can exploit. Once inside the network, attackers can move laterally across interconnected systems, potentially gaining control over building operations like heating, ventilation and HVAC systems.”

A compromised HVAC unit can do far more than make occupants uncomfortable. It can cause server failures, disrupt essential business processes, and open pathways into other critical infrastructure. The risk is not merely theoretical; it’s a growing reality for organizations that treat physical systems as an afterthought rather than an active component of their digital ecosystem.

2) Treat physical infrastructure as part of your tech stack.

In forward-looking organizations, enterprise tech stacks converge cloud, application, network, and security services into a unified architecture. Yet the physical layer—real-world devices with software—often falls outside this scrutiny.

Leaders must shift their perspective: HVAC controllers, IoT sensors, badge readers, etc., all live inside the network and belong in patch cycles, inventory plans, vulnerability scans, and incident response playbooks. Don’t think of them as “silos” or “operations-only” assets. They’re code-driven, data-generating endpoints that can pose substantial enterprise risks.

Again, Barns warns: “Cybersecurity breaches in smart buildings can impact operations, safety, finances and reputation. A breach in building operations systems could halt critical functions, such as HVAC or lighting, causing significant downtime and potential financial losses… The financial impact can involve direct costs like regulatory fines and indirect costs, such as lost business and reputational damage.”

Think of your building as a managed environment, not a stand-alone structure. Every asset should appear in CMDBs, receive firmware updates, and feed logs into your SIEM. Cyber hygiene and resilience planning form the core of effective governance, guiding how smart infrastructure is managed, secured, and sustained.

3) Build with cross-functional collaboration.

Effective security for intelligent spaces depends on organizational alignment as much as technical solutions. The walls between facilities, IT, and risk teams must come down, forging integrated accountability at every stage of design and deployment. Successful smart-building security depends on shared standards, workflows, and KPIs.

Leaders can codify this collaboration by:

• Creating a convergence task force with key members from IT, facilities, and risk management.
• Including physical asset requirements in security baselines (e.g., MFA credentials on all control panels, firmware patch schedules, and secure default settings).
• Running tabletop drills that simulate HVAC or access control compromise, testing joint detection and response capabilities.
• Setting cross-domain KPIs (e.g., device uptime and patch compliance percentages) to ensure risk and resilience are shared outcomes.

Buildings are no longer passive structures. As digital layers overlay bricks and mortar, so do new vectors of risk. Yet when founders and senior leaders treat intelligent spaces with the same rigor as their SaaS platforms—through asset visibility, tech stack integration, and cross-functional alignment—they turn smart-building investments from optimism into outcomes.

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