Sensor Security

However, sensor and beacon technologies are relatively new to the FM industry and few best practices exist to address data security and privacy concerns. As more devices are deployed, the need for safeguards to protect sensitive information grows.

Always watching

Anyone who’s worked in an office has likely encountered sensors and beacons of some kind — even without knowing so. The badge scanner they used to enter the building? That smartphone app that lets them book a meeting room? They’re all sensors.

There are three types of sensors prevalent in modern workplaces:

• Motion sensors determine the presence of nearby people and objects. A common use is for turning lights on and off based on whether someone’s in a room.

• Occupancy sensors are used to collect real-time data about space utilization. Infrared sensors determine if someone’s sitting at a desk, while imaging sensors track movement in and out of doorways.

• Industrial IoT sensors are not common in general workplaces but they are found in industrial spaces. They’re used to analyze machinery sound frequencies, vibrations and temperature. If problems arise, sensors alert facility managers.

Beacons are slightly different. They require connection to a smartphone app and provide a plethora of information about available meeting rooms, open workstations, location of colleagues and emergency situations. Beacons are small devices that transmit data via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

Unlike sensors, beacons don’t collect or receive data. They transmit information that says, “I’m a specific beacon.” A nearby smartphone app picks up that information and sends to a server. An example of a beacon in action is a wayfinding app that uses beacons to find individuals in a facility then provides dotted-line directions for them to follow.

At their core, sensors and beacons are designed to help facility managers and other leaders improve employee experience while improving how workplace real estate is utilized. With any new technology, there are inherent risks in using IoT technologies like these to collect and analyze data. Employees may feel “Big Brother” is monitoring their every move and the information collected will work against them.

Additionally, improper security protocols may expose companies to data breaches through what is believed to be a benign sensor network. Managing these risks is a challenge, but organizations can conquer these risks with the right planning and strategies.

Less is more

As the IoT expands, sensors and beacons will play a much larger role in workplace management. New technology is undoubtedly exciting, but the smart path is restraint of use. Before implementing sensors and beacons, facility managers should consider the following:

• What data are you collecting? Organizations tend to gather information for information’s sake. This not only clogs cloud storage, but it also exposes companies to privacy and security concerns. The answer: Collect the minimum amount of data needed to achieve the goal of using sensors and beacons in the first place. Do you need to know how many people are in a meeting room? Machine vision-based sensors can determine that without identifying individuals. Anonymizing information provides needed analytics while protecting privacy.
  

• How is the data transferred and stored? Sensors and beacons require a network connection to share collected information. Does the data leave your company’s walls to an outside data service, such as AWS or Google Cloud? If so, what information is transmitted and is it identifiable? What are the encryption protocols before, during and after transfer? Organizations must ensure the highest level of security regardless if collected data is stored on- or off-site.
  

• Who has access to the data and how’s it used? Sensor and beacon data are used for two purposes: to improve employee experience and to help make strategic workplace and real estate decisions. Access to this data should follow the “less is more” standard.

Deterring hackers vs. privacy

In the United States, workers have no real legal expectation of privacy in the workplace. Employers can read emails, look at calendars and monitor pretty much anything employees are doing in the office. European law offers more protection of individual rights, but the issue is finding a balance between employers’ and employees’ privacy expectations.

The workplace management industry hasn’t had in-depth conversations on what type of data is and isn’t appropriate to collect using sensors and beacons. Companies often express little interest in information about individuals; they want aggregated workplace metrics from sensor and beacon networks.

Any data collection comes a risk and information collected by sensors and beacons is no different. First, there’s the potential of inadvertently — or deliberately — releasing data to third parties such as survey organizations. Sensors and beacons can gather highly detailed information about employees, from name badge scans to where an individual is located in real-time within a facility. But a greater risk may come from hackers accessing confidential or sensitive information through these networks.

A sensor system on a corporate network may become a channel for cyber criminals to reach personnel, financial and strategic information. The best solution is to put sensor and beacon tech on its own wireless or wired network independent of other corporate systems. If a sensor system is compromised, hackers can’t get to the larger pool of company data.

Power of protocols

Organizations that use sensor and beacon networks in-house should strengthen security to the highest level possible. But for the majority of companies that outsource data management, the onus of keeping company information safe falls to trusted third-party vendors.

So, who can be trusted? The following security-related certifications are a good starting point:

• SOC 2 — This protocol focuses on a business’s non-financial reporting controls as they relate to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy of sensor and beacon systems. SOC 1/SSAE 18 focuses on financial reporting controls.

• GDPR — This European Union standard applies to organizations both inside and outside of the EU that offer goods and services to, or monitor the behavior of, EU residents. It applies to all companies that process and hold personal data of EU citizens, regardless of the company’s location.

• ISO 27001 — This certification demonstrates a vendor has identified the risks, assessed the implications and put in place systemized controls to limit any damage to the organization.

Risk with reward

The data gathered through sensors and beacons is invaluable for improving employee experience and helping companies make strategic decisions around workplace and real estate use.

A 2018 study by office design company Peldon Rose showed 95 percent of employees cite physical work environment as critical to well-being and mental health. Sensors can control lighting, temperature and other environmental factors that impact worker happiness. Real-time tracking lets employees know which meeting rooms and hotel desks are available. Similarly, they can locate colleagues using wayfinding app data. These factors save time, reduce stress and allow employees to maximize their talents for the tasks at hand.

Improving employee experience starts with addressing privacy concerns head on. Company leaders should provide real-world examples of how sensors and beacons are used and how collected information is protected and anonymous, when applicable. For instance, personal data and location are used for wayfinding apps, but employees control whether they use the app and share their information.

Sensor and beacon data can also help improve space utilization. By examining occupancy sensor data from four conference rooms over six months, for example, facility managers may see only two of those rooms are ever in use at the same time. This finding can lead to re-purposing the underutilized rooms for additional employee or collaborative workspaces.

From the simplest convenience of motion detecting lights to the most fundamental insights about which areas of a workplace employees use most frequently, smarter workplace sensors and beacons give facility managers information to maximize oversight. This, in turn, leads to increases in productivity, lower operational costs, better utilization of facilities and more—affecting both the top and bottom lines of a business’ growth.