Cybersecurity in smart cities is one of the biggest, if not ‘the biggest’ challenge for upcoming smart cities in the world. By 2050, about 66% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. Cybersecurity is a prerequisite for all smart cities in existence, development or in plans of development. This means ensuring that all 9 yards for security are well thought through and executed. Everything from having a Quick reaction plan or force, a backup facility, cloud management and even manual overrides.
Smart cities must adjust and adapt to the requirements and complexities of the new cybersecurity landscape. Let’s take a look at the new cybersecurity landscape we would all be dealing with:
With the introduction of new web and mobile apps, IoT, connected homes, connected cars and even connected logistics, it’s going to be a crazy mayhem of data flying all over the place. To put it in simpler words, everything is hackable. So where do you start? When you put more things on the line, you are literally putting more at stake. It’s like when you colonize multiple landmasses, you are exposing a larger surface for yourself to be attacked from different angles. So not only is there a need to grow a team but to have the right knowledge and expertise is an absolute must! A key added bonus would be to understand IoT security and ensure that that the most intricate of data is well protected.
As the ‘internet of things’ starts to connect more and more things in our daily lives, we’re going to see a trend of excessive financial transactions and data passing on to the internet. I think that it goes without saying that the goldmine of billions and billions of dollars opens up to a whole new set of hackers. So all we can do is, be prepared to experience and anticipate some new and innovative ways of being attacked.
Even today, when the world has not seen the full potential of the connected world, customers are reluctant to give out their information to businesses and in cases where they do, it very often under the misconception that businesses keep their information well protected. Imagine a world where your private data was accessible to just about everyone, the government, your local grocer, your friends and worst of all, to the several hackers out there. It is so scary to think that new phobias are created that describes the fear of constantly being watched by the internet. With all the interconnectivity, smart cities take it one step ahead by giving people the fear of always being controlled by a superior entity.
