Smart Cities are a growing phenomenon – harnessing technology to optimise urban functions. According to the IDC, by 2023 cities will have spent $189 billion on smart technologies for these purposes. Smart City initiatives hold a lot of potential for improving much of the quality of life in cities, as data is aggregated and used for public safety measures, connected and autonomous transport and infrastructure. However, as cities continue to adopt technology to optimise living, it is crucial to consider the security needs of this newly connected network.

Smart technology used for Smart Cities is highly reliant on an ever-expanding network of connected devices. The amount of data that passes between and is stored in devices is massive and often contains sensitive information or controls to municipal infrastructure, such as water systems or energy grids. Each device serves as another entry point into the overarching cloud or network that the device is feeding into – which gives hackers a multitude of potential weak links to exploit.

Consequently, Smart Cities must be developed with security in mind through every step of the process. The benefits of these technologies will amount to nothing if it leads to costly and dangerous cyberattacks. Therefore, there should be several layers of security built into the network, as well as the devices themselves, protecting both even as some security measures are breached. Angoka’s security solutions, for example, offer a last line of defence against cyberattacks, ensuring device identity and message authentication.

Having a strong cybersecurity posture will be key as smart technologies continue to be implemented into cities. Similarly, continuously reviewing that cybersecurity posture, monitoring potential risks and developing a suitable management strategy will go a long way to ensuring that Smart Cities are cyber resilient.