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ARTICLE · 11 JULY 2018

Cyber In The Built Environment

Mishcon de Reya LLP
Mishcon de Reya LLP
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Mishcon de Reya LLP

Mishcon de Reya LLP

Founded by Lord Mishcon in 1937, in a one-room office in Brixton, Mishcon de Reya now employs over...

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We are surrounded by digital technology in every aspect of our lives; whether we carry it in our pockets and bags

United KingdomReal Estate and Construction
Joe Hancock
Joe Hancock

We are surrounded by digital technology in every aspect of our lives; whether we carry it in our pockets and bags, have it displayed on screens in our homes or it is used to control the buildings in which we live and work.  Smart building controls are an area of rapid development and the associated cyber security aspects require careful consideration.

The key trend we have observed in our research around this at Mishcon de Reya is the close relationship between the digital and physical worlds: cyber breaches cause not just losses of data or funds, but can cause physical, real world consequences.  As a result, cyber security is an important consideration to bear in mind when choosing a new location or when upgrading an existing building.  For example, IoT technologies have provided building occupiers with digitised fire systems, but if the integrity of the system can be breached, what impact will this have on the fire safety response?

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