Addressing security challenges in smart cities

Sunaina Rana / Emirates Business

The past few years have witnessed a steady growth of smart cities in the region, with UAE initiatives like Dubai Plan 2021 and Dubai Smart City program by 2017 topping the list. As they create new opportunities for businesses, the need for potential security against data breaches underlines the importance of technological advancements too.
According to Aji Joseph, General Manager, RadarServices Middle East, “Data collected by sensors of IoT devices can be compromised by hackers if proper attention is not paid while selecting and installing the same. Smart Cities require better integration between different devices within the system making every component in the system important as hackers can gain access to the system by focusing on non-critical devices that are poorly maintained.”
“The structures of the smart cities are developed with an interconnected ICT infrastructure and innovative digital services that ride on an embedded mesh of sensors and controls, undertake advanced analytics, and offer rapid connectivity and world-class services to all users – residents, visitors and businesses. However, the very same platform also becomes a magnet attracting relentless attacks by hackers,” Aji told Emirates Business.
These highly technical features are further leading in to the era of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) where multiple connected sensors govern the city’s key infrastructure.
But these high-tech cities my come to a standstill or worse impact national security, if they face breach of security.
However, to tackle such catastrophe the stakeholders need to take appropriate measures and response to time-to-time to prevent the possibility of attacks and maintain city services future-proof.
The main emphasis should be laid upon a well-coordinated and managed security framework, which in turn would help in establishing as well as ensuring the vast amounts
of data that a smart city generate is analysed.
This will further aid in the meaningful insights for the city’s growth, and yet remain elusive to individuals with malicious intent.