The construction industry is going through a digital transformation, and Building Information Modelling (BIM) has a vital role in the digitalisation process. It creates a more connected, collaborative, and efficient environment for all phases of construction. However, improved collaboration and easy access to data increase the risk of cybersecurity attacks from internal and external threat agents against sensitive project information. This study focuses on the design phase since cybersecurity issues in BIM environments peak in this stage with the increasing number of stakeholders involved and intensive information creation.
Even though there are many cybersecurity frameworks published by international and national organisations around the world, none of them particularly focuses on the design phase of construction projects. Therefore, this study reviews four generic cybersecurity documents to select the most suitable option for adapting into the BIM environment. As a result of the review, Cyber Assessment Framework from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is selected to proceed with the adaptation considering the tools, processes, and stakeholders involved in the design phase. As a result of this adaptation, the main cybersecurity issues in the BIM-design context are identified, and suggestions are provided. In the last part of the study, a data sharing architecture that makes use of Blockchain Technology (BCT) and decentralised storage approach is proposed to manage some of the addressed cybersecurity problems. Decentralised data storage mechanism and the use of Blockchain (BC) in the proposed architecture differentiates it from previous studies.
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