Abstract

By leveraging advancements in information and communications technology (ICT), Smart Cities offer many potential benefits like improved energy efficiency, management and personal security. However, this dependence on ICT also makes smart cities prone to cyber attacks. In this paper, we investigate the topic of cybersecurity for smart cities. We show how the specific characteristics of smart cities give rise to cybersecurity challenges, and review the different threats faced. Finally, we review some of the more important cybersecurity solutions for smart cities that have been proposed.

Introduction

Rapid advances in ICT have been exploited to streamline the design, operation and management of urban environments in a variety of ways. For example, it is now possible to monitor and manage energy consumption patterns in real time with smart meters, use this information to coordinate generation and distribution resources via the smart grid, continuously track traffic congestion and road hazards and communicate this automatically to vehicles and commuters. Progress in these areas have helped to cut costs, increase efficiency, bring about greater safety and convenience, and reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.