Intelligent building systems and workplace privacy

Noah Zon, Alannah Dharamshi, and Jasmine Irwin write about the emerging privacy challenges associated with intelligent buildings.

Modern buildings are much more than bricks and beams. With the introduction of intelligent building systems, these spaces are digital environments as well as physical ones. Intelligent building systems use digital technologies and sensors to monitor and manage a building and its systems, such as lighting and ventilation. These technologies can make buildings more environmentally friendly, more comfortable, and less expensive to operate. However, in doing so, they also generate vast quantities of data about people spending time in these buildings, presenting a growing risk to digital privacy, especially for employees in the workplace.