With worldwide urban populations on the rise year after year, smart cities project developers are searching for ways to create increasingly intelligent, efficient, and sustainable solutions. The Internet of Things (IoT) has been the technological starting block, but as IoT usage and implementation expands its reach across several verticals, increased digitization needed to power smart cities has also brought additional cybersecurity risks to the IoT ecosystem — threatening the momentum of current and future projects. In 2024, three industries — financial, information and communication, and defense — will account for over half of the projected $135 billion total allotted to mitigating cybersecurity within the IoT infrastructure. The remaining 44% is designated to be split among several platforms considered integral to smart city growth:
Underfunding in these crucial areas have placed smart cities infrastructure under an increasing risk of cyberattacks, but this lag isn't solely linked to a lack of investment.
Smart cities are comprised of a diverse, multi-layered multi-vendor ecosystem in which prioritizing connectivity leaves digital security as an afterthought. Data encryption, protocol tracking, zero-level device protection are among the key preventive measures being mostly overlooked in development. A lack of cryptographic measures, poor encryption key management, and substandard onboarding around secure devices have all significantly contributed to increased cybersecurity threats. Furthermore, cyberattackers have simply become more savvy in maneuvering around digital security implementations currently in place.
Organizations across numerous sectors — Microsoft on the cloud service side, digital security players Rambus and Entrust Datacard, and Huawei — have made headway in providing smart city solutions, but there is still a long road ahead.
Despite these existing threats, there are frameworks that implementers can use to tackle concerns around cybersecurity:
You can read more inside the Smart City Cyber Security report, which provides detailed recommendations on improving digital security in the smart cities space. Our Digital Security and Smart Cities & Smart Spaces research services also have you covered for your strategic long-term planning needs.