Cybercriminals are exploiting buildings’ systems that were connected to the internet in a hurry during the pandemic, with little consideration for security
t is an average workday, you are in the office, and the fire alarms go off. Eyes roll, laptops slam shut, bags are grabbed. Calm irritation prevails as you prepare to evacuate. But there is a problem.
The doors will not open. Every meeting room and stairwell is sealed shut and the building’s entrances and exits have been remotely locked. The alarms wail on and panic sets in. Screams echo down the corridors as employees realise they are trapped with no idea whether this is a fire drill or a real emergency. Then, without warning or explanation, the noise stops and the doors are released. There was no fire. The building, it transpires, had been hacked — probably in an attempt to cause enough chaos and reputational damage to coerce the occupier into paying a ransom.
This is not the plot of a Hollywood action film but a real life account of what happened in the summer of 2024 when cybercriminals took control of an office building in California. Attacks like these are happening, or being threatened, with alarming frequency...
RSK: Just because you are a small office doesn`t mean you won`t be hacked. and on another note, when was the last time you practiced a fire drill?
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- - Volume: 26 - WEEK: 9 Date: 2/24/2026 3:24:06 PM -