Smart Cities Will Require Smarter Cybersecurity

As cities become smarter, officials and security experts say that current defenses are unlikely to keep hackers at bay.

Most major cities have some form of smart-technology program, including sensors that measure air quality, automated traffic-control systems and smart power grids that distribute electricity according to demand.

Deploying these technologies comes at a cost, however, in that the number of connections also gives hackers more opportunities to break into city systems. The proliferation of internet-connected devices that process the data they collect, known as the Internet of Things and edge computing, respectively, are of particular concern.

“As things move out of the direct area of city control, as processing moves out toward the edge, as data is collected in systems that we don’t have direct control over, we don’t have really good systems in place to manage security in those environments yet,” said Kevin Martin, program manager for PDX, a smart-city initiative in Portland, Ore.

Ideas for making cyber defenses smarter include reducing reliance on passwords in favor of identifying specific devices that have connected to a network. Experts and officials say that manufacturers of sensors should be forced to comply with certain security standards, and cities should consider open-sourcing these standards to benefit from the perspective of a wider range of security professionals than just those in civil service.

Experts are also concerned that recent cyberattacks on cities, such as the ransomware infections in Baltimore, Atlanta and elsewhere, could pale in comparison against the impact of future hacks as residents and authorities come to rely on new technologies.

“The problem is that we are using more and more technology every day; all of our systems are interconnected, and there will be a time where we will depend 100% on technology,” said Cesar Cerrudo, founder of the Securing Smart Cities nonprofit initiative, which brings together government and private-sector specialists to research vulnerabilities in urban technology world-wide.

Still, cities are pushing ahead with tech innovations. The United Nations estimates that two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, meaning cities need data to inform planning and policy. Tightening budgets also means that officials are hoping to save money through deploying smart tech and automating public services.

One problem: The lack of uniform standards makes it difficult to determine what the minimum requirements for security should be.