Securing the smart city

A smart city uses technology to automate and improve city services, ultimately making citizens' lives better. It describes a city full of connections, where information technology and the Internet of Things (IOT) is embedded into everyday life. The problem is, for each connection, there's a risk. Data is shared across networks that, if poorly encrypted, can be accessed. Each connection, however remote or seemingly innocuous, could provide an entry point for a hacker who could potentially manipulate that system for their own devices. Digital security experts like Cesar Cerrudo, CTO for IOActive Labs, have concerns about how robust this encryption is. Cerrudo points out that many use weak encryption algorithms, and others have poor key encryption generation or fixed keys that hackers can gain access to. It's not just fragile encryption or weak connection security - citizens in a smart city havea part to play too. Simple or shared passwords and lost memory sticks could potentially offer hackers the opportunity to access personal and business information that we hold. Malware can be stored within apps we freely download.