Maureen Roskoski has written an article entitled “Evolved Cybersecurity Needs Evolved Training” in the NICE eNewsletter Summer 2022 Government Spotlight. Here is an excerpt, below:
The facilities workforce is constantly evolving to adapt to changing environments. As buildings have become smarter with more connected technology, there is an increase in the need for cybersecurity knowledge in the facilities workforce driven by policy initiatives, regulatory requirements, and technology advancements. How can an organization keep up with emerging workforce needs and maintain a competent facilities workforce?
The Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act (FBPTA) was enacted in 2010 and required the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish core competencies and a curriculum for those that run federal buildings. The FBPTA program developed a competency model that established 44 core competencies related to facility management, building operation, and energy management roles, including a total of 268 specific competencies. The model is updated annually which enables GSA to identify the evolving needs of the federal facility management workforce and add competencies to reflect those needs. In 2018, additions to the model included cybersecurity competencies to help facilities personnel meet the federal government’s need for a workforce skilled in cybersecurity. Over the past few decades, the tools for managing buildings have substantially changed, and today’s facility managers, energy managers, and building operators are more dependent on digital technologies to run buildings and monitor efficiency and costs.
While technology has improved exponentially during the last 10 years, providing building managers with excellent and more sophisticated tools, it has also brought an increased threat of disruption through cyber-attacks. This threat requires facilities personnel to obtain and maintain competencies related to cybersecurity for facility systems, subsystems, sensors, and other devices.
Additional Resources
Read the full article here.
