TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN CONSTRUCTION Cybersecurity in Construction:


What Contractors Should Know to Combat Cyber Threats and Reduce Their Risk


By Carol Eaton


be hard-pressed to find an individual or business that has never suffered a data breach, been on the wrong end of a phishing email, accidentally downloaded malware or suffered a ransomware attack – or at least know someone who has. Te sheer number and variations of cyberattacks have skyrocketed in recent years, impacting every market sector. And the construction industry is no


C


exception. In fact, many of the statistics


shared by cybersecurity experts during a recent Engineering News-Record- sponsored webinar on cybersecurity in construction were eye-opening. Among them: a full one-third of crimeware incidents across all sectors occur within the E&C industry. Every 14 seconds, a business is hit


with a ransomware attack, adding up to nearly $12 billion in lost revenue each year. A full 50 percent of those cyber-attacks are against small to medium sized businesses. And perhaps most sobering: 60 percent of businesses who fall victim to a data breach will go out of business within six months. Tose were just some of the


industry statistics cited by Patrick Nord, director of analytics, and Paul Cormier, director of opera- tions, with Archetype SC during the ENR webinar, “Cybersecurity in Construction: Understanding and Mitigating Your Risks.” “When you look across industry


as a whole, cyberattacks are just increasing,” said Nord. “I would like to be able to say the state of the cyberse- curity industry is strong, but that is not


18 September/October 2019


yberattacks are a growing threat in today’s hyper- connected world. One would


the case – and I don’t foresee it being that anytime soon. Cybersecurity really does represent a real existential threat. Tere is real, imminent danger not just to the success of a company but really it presents a danger to the continued existence of a company.”


“Owners should be adding cyber security as part of their due diligence and qualification of contractors, and contractors should do the same with subs, subs the same with suppliers.” -- Patrick Nord, Archetype SC


Industry-Specific Risks In 2019, from $1 trillion to $1.5


trillion in cybercrime will be perpe- trated, according to Nord. And that number is projected to at least quadruple by 2025 to $6 trillion. Te bad actors are not just nation-states anymore either, he noted, but also independent networks of individuals. As construction technology has


grown and companies have adopted cloud storage and are using these new technologies to grow their businesses, cyber risk has grown right alongside it. Nord and Cormier outlined at least seven major areas of risk that offer particular peril to those in the construction industry, outlined below.


Cloud Storage


“I can’t tell you how many companies I’ve spoken with who consider cloud storage as their main or sole form of


defense,” Cormier said. “It’s not a magic wand. Cloud service providers are not responsible for assuring that the files you store are free from malicious code."


New technology solutions Hundreds of new technology


solutions have been created for the engineering and construction space in recent years. But networked cameras and other connected devises are ripe for hacking. Cranes and other heavy equipment are now able to be operated via remote control, which makes them easily hacked. Blockchain technology, while


offering new security options, also comes with vulnerabilities. “You can’t look at a technology and see it as a panacea to what ails you – they all have issues and challenges,” Nord said.


Cyber Insurance coverage (or gaps) While this can be one solution for


cyberattacks, it also often includes gaps in coverages and exclusions and repre- sents a reactive approach.


“Smart” facilities and owners Te surge in smart facilities with


different technologies embedded within them has raised a “whole new level of concern,” Nord said. Often the information contained in the facilities is more valuable now than the physical buildings themselves.


Corporate espionage Te competitive advantage is lost


when data is stolen from businesses. Tis threat is real in many market sectors including construction.


The Human Factor Tis category of cyberthreat is by


far the most significant, Nord and Cormier said. In fact, they cited a Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investiga-


Continued on page 19 California Constructor


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