SECURITY
Cybersecurity: the upgrade paradox
Nigel Thomas, national specification and project sales manager at ABB Electrification, discusses the ways in which implementing BMS can expose healthcare estates to critical vulnerabilities, and explains how estates teams can implement the correct cybersecurity safeguards.
Intelligent and efficient building management systems (BMS) are the future of healthcare infrastructure. But in the same server rooms that control temperature, adjust airflow, and regulate power consumption across sprawling estates, critical vulnerabilities lie. Every sensor, touchpad, USB port, and cloud- linked energy monitor is a potential doorway for malicious actors. This is the upgrade paradox. The
very technologies that hospitals use to meet the challenges of an ageing population and Net Zero commitments are simultaneously expanding their attack surface. And as healthcare estates become more digitalised, the consequences of a breach extend far beyond stolen data – they could directly threaten patient safety. According to the Centre for Ageing
Better, the number of people aged 65-79 in the UK is predicted to increase by nearly a third to over 10 million in the next 40 years, while the number of people aged 80 and over is set to more than double to over six million. These patients are more sensitive to poorly managed ventilation and heating, and are significantly more vulnerable in the event of power failure. Energy management systems are increasingly recognised as essential to addressing this challenge. But if hospitals rely on BMS without adequate cybersecurity safeguards, they risk creating catastrophic points of failure, precisely where they most need resilience.
Demographics, decarbonisation, and digitalisation Three powerful forces are reshaping hospital infrastructure, and each amplifies the urgency of the cybersecurity question. The demographic pressure is undeniable. An older, frailer patient population places extraordinary demands on environmental control systems. Elderly patients are particularly vulnerable to temperature extremes. Hypothermia can set in rapidly for those over 80, while heat stress poses serious cardiovascular risks. HVAC systems in modern hospitals are essentially an
extension of life-support equipment. And according to research, these systems account for around 50 per cent and sometimes close to 60 per cent of a hospital’s total energy demand. The decarbonisation imperative adds another layer of
complexity. The NHS, as the UK’s largest public sector emitter, has committed to delivering Net Zero carbon patient care by 2045. If global healthcare were a nation, it would rank as the world’s fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter. Meeting these targets requires wholesale transformation of energy infrastructure. The government’s £180m investment in rooftop solar across 200 NHS sites signals the scale of this transformation, while National Grid’s renewables-focused
Hospital bed with smart panel.
The NHS, as the UK’s largest public sector emitter, has committed to delivering Net Zero carbon patient care by 2045. Meeting these targets requires wholesale transformation of energy infrastructure.
April 2026 Health Estate Journal 57
AdobeStock / NVB Stocker
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