Cybersecurity 路 Free
Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet
Secure the building management systems you design, install or run: real building hacks, BMS network architecture and its weak points, hardening controllers and front ends, secure design with zones and conduits, BACnet Secure Connect, defence in depth for BACnet/IP, secure vendor remote access and zero trust.
Inside the course
From the lessons
Buildings that got hacked
IFSEC Insider
How a BMS network is built, and where it is weak
Aayat Technical
Cyber security for building automation
Smart Buildings Academy
Designing a secure building management system
Kaspersky
BACnet Secure Connect
Siemens Knowledge Hub
Securing BACnet systems in depth
BACnetInternational
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Explain how buildings have been attacked and why the BMS can be a way into the business; describe a BMS network from management to field level and find its weak points; harden controllers, servers and workstations; design a secure BMS with zones, conduits and security requirements in the specification; explain and plan BACnet Secure Connect with its hubs and certificates; secure existing BACnet/IP systems in depth; design secure vendor remote access; and plan the move to authenticated, authorised and audited BACnet.
- Explain how buildings have been hacked and why a BMS can be a way into the business
- Describe BMS architecture and find the weak points in BACnet, Modbus and MS/TP networks
- Harden controllers, servers and accounts in the building's priorities
- Design a secure BMS with IEC 62443 zones, conduits and specification clauses
- Explain and plan BACnet Secure Connect with hubs and certificates
- Secure existing BACnet/IP systems in depth
- Design secure, time-limited vendor remote access
- Plan authorisation, audit logging and a phased migration
For you
Taking Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet from the United States
- Free in the United States, as everywhere, and self-paced: lessons, notes and the final assessment are open at any hour, so your time zone and shift pattern do not matter.
- The optional certificate for learners in the United States is a one-off US$28.99. What you get for it
- Plants across the Americas most often run Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Inductive Automation; each has its own free course to take next.
- See automation and engineering jobs in the United States, and what the industry looks like in Houston, Detroit and Chicago.
- EDWartens also has a regional site for the United States, for classroom training and local support: edwartens.com/us.
The course project 路 about 10 hours
Securing the BMS of a Lagos office tower: asset inventory, zones and conduits, risk register and BACnet/SC migration plan
Assess and secure the building management system of a 14-storey office tower as the BMS security engineer: list every connected building asset, draw the zones and conduits, register the risks, and plan the hardening, remote access changes and move to BACnet/SC. The sample pack shows each document for a tech park tower in Lagos. Work from drawings and your own bench equipment; never scan or change a live building without the owner's written permission.
Sample document pack, 4 documents, filled in for the scenario
- Asset inventoryBMS asset inventory: Coastline Tech Park Tower B
- Zones & conduitsZones and conduits: Tower B BMS
- Risk registerBMS risk register: Tower B
- PlanBMS hardening, remote access and BACnet/SC migration plan: Tower B
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Course content
9 modules 路 17 lessons 路 5h 12m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01Buildings that got hacked4 lessons17m
- 02How a BMS network is built, and where it is weak2 lessons15m
- 03Cyber security for building automation1 lesson50m
- 04Designing a secure building management system1 lesson28m
- 05BACnet Secure Connect3 lessons1h 2m
- 06Securing BACnet systems in depth1 lesson59m
- 07Segmentation, remote access and zero trust3 lessons22m
- 08Where BACnet security is going1 lesson59m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Intermediate. You should know what a BMS does and have basic networking knowledge: IP addresses, subnets and VLANs. Experience with BACnet or Modbus helps but is not required.
- Software
- None required. Wireshark (free) is useful for looking at BACnet traffic on a test network you own. What to download, and how
- Hardware
- None. A spare BACnet controller on a bench network makes the hardening exercises more real.
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing is required
Wireshark is useful for looking at BACnet traffic on a test network you own.
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free
Wireshark
Wireshark Foundation
- Runs on
- Windows 11 or 10 64-bit (x64 or Arm64), Windows Server 2016 or later, macOS (Universal disk image), Linux
- Account
- None needed
Free, open source software. No licence fee for any use.
Steps
- 1.Open wireshark.org/download.html.
- 2.Download the Windows x64 Installer (or Arm64, or the macOS Universal Disk Image).
- 3.Run the installer and keep the Npcap option ticked on Windows.
- 4.Open Wireshark, pick your network interface and click the blue fin to start capturing.
- Npcap is needed for live capture on Windows. The Windows installer includes it.
- Only capture traffic on networks you own or have written permission to monitor.
Official download pagewireshark.org
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet at a glance
Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for BMS engineers, facility managers and integrators. It has 9 modules and 5h 12m of video lessons by Instrumentation Tools, Siemens Knowledge Hub, BACnet International and others, with written notes and worked problems, a practical project with a document pack and a 15-question final assessment (pass mark 60%). Learning is free with an account; an optional certificate with a public verification code is issued when you pass. Last updated 27 September 2026.
All course factsHide course facts
- Price
- Free, for good. No trial, no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate, a small one-off fee.
- Who it is for
- BMS engineers, facility managers and integrators
- Format
- 9 self-paced modules, 5h 12m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Intermediate. Intermediate. You should know what a BMS does and have basic networking knowledge: IP addresses, subnets and VLANs. Experience with BACnet or Modbus helps but is not required.
- Brand
- Vendor-neutral
- Software
- None required. Wireshark (free) is useful for looking at BACnet traffic on a test network you own.
- Hardware
- None. A spare BACnet controller on a bench network makes the hardening exercises more real.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Instrumentation Tools, Siemens Knowledge Hub, BACnet International, Smart Buildings Academy (independent creators, credited below)
- Language
- English
- Last updated
- 27 September 2026
A shareable EDWartens certificate
Finish every module and pass the final assessment, and the optional EDWartens certificate is yours. It carries a unique verification code on a public page anyone can check, so it stands up when a recruiter looks it up. See it below.
The course itself stays free whether or not you ever buy one.
Stuck? Ask a practising engineer
A free course usually means a comment section and hope. This one does not. Every module has an Ask-your-trainer panel that reaches the same engineers who teach our paid programme: people who commission panels for a living, not moderators.
Pairs well with
Cybersecurity 路 FreeCompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Exam PrepPrepare for CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 with Professor Messer's complete free video course: every exam objective across the five domains, with EDWartens notes, worked calculations, practice questions and an optional security project. Exam preparation only: the EDWartens certificate is not the CompTIA Security+ certification, which is earned only by passing CompTIA's exam.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA PortalFrom zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA Portal in Three HoursThe first three hours of the Siemens TIA Portal course, cut to end on a win: what a PLC is, how it is wired, a project configured in TIA Portal, and your first ladder program running in simulation. Finish it in an evening or two, earn a certificate, and carry straight on into the full course.
PLC programming 路 FreeTIA Portal: Build a MachineOne machine, start to finish. Take a bottle filling line from a written specification and an I/O list to a structured S7-1200 program with a fill station, a capper, a reject sorter and an operator screen with alarms, then test it against a written record and archive it for hand-over. The lessons are the reference; the machine is yours, and it is what you submit.More free courses: Free cyber security courses 路 Free BMS and building automation courses 路 Free OT and ICS security courses
Learner reviews
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Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Who is the Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet course for?
BMS engineers and technicians, system integrators, facility managers, MEP consultants and OT or IT security staff who look after building systems. Basic networking knowledge is assumed.
Is this a hacking course?
No. It teaches people responsible for buildings to protect them. There are no techniques for attacking systems, and the course warns against testing live buildings without written permission.
Is it tied to one BMS vendor?
No. It is about BACnet, Modbus and the design of any BMS. Siemens and other companies' lessons are used where they explain the ideas well, credited on each module, and none of them is affiliated with EDWartens.
Do I need BACnet/SC equipment?
No. The course explains BACnet/SC from the lessons and the standard's principles. If you have a controller that supports it, the bench exercises become more real.
Is the Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a BACnet International or ASHRAE certification.
How long does the Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet course take?
About 8.1 hours of video lessons, notes and practice questions, plus about 10 hours if you do the project. At an hour a day, that is about two and a half weeks.
What is the project in the Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet course?
You assess the BMS of a 14-storey office tower in Lagos, Nigeria, whose tenant wants evidence that the building's systems are secure. You write an asset inventory, a zones and conduits model, a risk register, and a plan for hardening, vendor remote access and a phased move to BACnet/SC.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for Cybersecurity for Building Automation: BMS and BACnet
Finish the course, pass the final, and this is the document with your name on it.
Verifiable by anyone
Adds to LinkedIn in one click
QR code on the certificate
Names what you can do
A permanent link
Earned, not attended
Learning is free. The certificate is optional.
Add it now and pay only when you have finished the course, or come back for it later. One-off, US$28.99, with a receipt.
Issued by EDWartens, the training division of Wartens, as a Certificate of Completion for this self-paced course. Sold by Wartens Ltd (England and Wales). It is not a vendor certification, a university award or a CPD-accredited activity, and it does not certify competence on live equipment. Delivered electronically; see the refund policy.
Credits
Who made the video lessons
The video lessons in this course were created by the people below, not by EDWartens. Every lesson streams from its creator's own YouTube channel; EDWartens neither hosts nor sells that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens and do not endorse this course. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
- Instrumentation Toolsthe lessons on building automation and control systems, network segmentation and secure remote access
- Siemens Knowledge Hubthe overview of security in smart buildings and the two lessons on BACnet Secure Connect
- BACnet Internationalthe lessons on cybersecurity for BACnet building automation systems and future directions for BACnet security
- Smart Buildings Academythe lessons on cyber security for building automation and BACnet/SC for secure networks
- Aayat Technicalthe lesson on BMS networking and cyber security
- IBM Technologythe short explainer on zero trust
- IFSEC Insiderthe lesson on smart buildings that were hacked
- Intelligent Buildingsthe building cyber security primer
- Kasperskythe lesson on designing cyber-secured building management systems
- Techno Service Co.the closing lesson on building management system cybersecurity
- Cimetricsthe overview of cybersecurity for building automation systems
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.