Technologies are expected to help citizens make better informed decisions. But, the adoption of new technologies which are connected to the network, always comes with inherent risks. Moreover, with the increasing risk of cybercrime and data theft, smart cities should be prepared to deal with any potential threat.

Safety and security are two of the main concerns in any city, and with the incorporation of digital technologies, the concern becomes greater. Therefore the Cybersecurity is a key enabling technology for our cities.

Cities need to integrate solutions that provide strong authentication and ID management solutions to ensure a safe and secure urban environment. In fact, the inclusion of smart technologies has the potential to reduce fatalities and improve emergency response times.

Because a threat could be introduced into a smart city's infrastructure at any compromised location, the risk can escalate rapidly as one system can compromise the next. When a seemingly harmless connected device is hacked and injected with malware, that attack could affect other devices, causing cascading damage throughout the whole infrastructure.

For example, a breach of street lighting systems could lead to control of lights, which could lead to servers, which in turn would generate data on individual customer behavior and ultimately end up with access to financial and other personal information about citizens, possibly even their health records.

It's not unlike a recent major distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack, in which everyday IoT devices such as baby monitors were hacked and turned into a botnet to take over some of the world's largest websites. Cities could be equally susceptible as they rapidly deploy connected devices in municipal domains.

In addition, customer-centric information aimed at citizen convenience may also be quite vulnerable. Unfortunately, the development of cybersecurity credentials, security and prevention systems for smart cities has not kept pace with the growing adoption of digital capabilities. Some European cities, anticipating the potential downside of digital transformation without controls, have already implemented safeguards. With the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, residents in European cities can opt in rather than having to actively opt in to multiple systems.

Meanwhile, many cities have employed certified biometric systems, cryptography and digital privacy policies, establishing a culture of cybersecurity. Recognizing the need to start and then budgeting for cybersecurity as part of an overall smart city initiative can help avoid additional expenses once the system is already in place. As with IoT in consumer products, connected systems throughout the city also need security protocols.

There are an unknown number of potential vulnerabilities and methodologies, some of the most common attacks include:

• Man-in-the-middle
• Data leak and identify theft
• Devices hijacked
• Distributed denial of service

In order to avoid these problems and to avoid new vulnerabilities, there are some best practices that should be taken into account until there are some concrete standards and ways of acting are established[1]:

• Creation of IoT and data usage policies
• Protecting individual identities by eliminating weak points and synchronizing access credentials
• Secure information at the source encrypting data form the start
• Standardize on a need-to-know basis controlling access and adding limitations
• Implement appropriate deterrents such as fines, penalties and even prison sentences
• Mutual and secure authentication systems
• Security monitoring and analysis
• Security Lifecycle Management

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An interconnected smart city sounds great and is a trendy: drivers avoid traffic jams; citizens' needs are predicted in advance by city services; utilities provide real-time information, allowing residents to adjust usage, etc. However, a cyber-secure interconnected utopia includes the right controls with proper implementation to ensure that connected infrastructure is accessible only to the right people at the right time for the right reasons.


Author
Jon Mitxelena
@GAIA


Resources: [1] https://ciberseguridad.com/guias/smart-cities/

Smart Cities are known to combine the use of cross-cutting and innovative technologies (ICT but not only) to improve the provision of urban-based services to citizens in a more efficient way if compared to the traditional methods employed so far.
 
In the age of the CoVid-19 pandemic, where distances have represented the first line of defense against the increasing degree of contagion from this virus, smart city project managers have had to face a new conundrum: how can cities continue to function when movements are being limited for health-related reasons? Indeed, different waves of lockdown have affected Europe as a whole, to different extent but with a halt to the freedom of movement as being a common factor to all countries in Europe and beyond.
 
To this end, different cities have started to reimagine their urban environments as micro-clusters that can provide whatever is needed to citizens within the span of a few minutes. Usually, limitations have been imposed on short distances or on the borders of the single municipality: for this reason, the maximum amount of time employed by people, on foot or by bike, can be calculated in just a few minutes – or just one, even.
 
This was the challenge launched by the Swedish national innovation body Vinnova and design think tank ArkDes. The idea is to combine a participatory approach to urban policy planning through the involvement of local citizens and the implementation of innovative solutions, also technology based. It represents a good example of cooperation between the idea of smart city project managers trying to implement on a small scale while taking into consideration during all phases of development both the needs and the ultimate goal of the project – that is, to enable citizens to enjoy all cities’ services within minutes from their residence.[1]
 
This approach to innovation and smartness can be considered to take place at the neighborhood level, and it is fair to define them as smart neighborhood. Furthermore, Sweden is not the only example in this category. To different extent in terms of time employed, but also Barcelona (the “superblock”), Paris (“15-minutes city”[2]) and other cities have been working on this kind of solutions.
 
Then, what exactly are the measures that are being put in place to allow citizens to move less but to actually experience and enjoy more their city at the neighborhood level? A first aspect that felt like needed rethinking was the space used by streets. With the progressive use of nature-based solution, developed according to the needs identified by the local residents, neighborhoods have started designing new structures that can help citizens enjoy more their local areas rather than having to move further away from their home. The same goes for similar green initiatives, like urban gardens – addressing both community-building and food supply issues (as in Los Angeles[3]). Other digital solutions are the widespread of bike sharing technologies, with cities’ sidewalks flooded with such opportunities, or cashless transactions[4].
 
The goal of this neighborhood-based solutions is to prove that smaller scale solutions for smarter cities are not only possible, but advisable in terms of practical benefits, governance and lower costs.

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Author
Antonio Gennarelli
@IDEC