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The Internet of Things – A Gateway to Smart Cities 

Sep 28, 2017 09:09 AM

Every day approximately 200,000 people around the world move from rural to urban areas leading to an explosive growth in cities. In fact, in 1950 only 29 percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas, but that total will near 65 percent by 2040. To combat this growth, cities must become “smart,” finding ways to become more efficient and better utilizing available resources to maintain – if not improve – their ability to deliver services to citizens.

The Internet of Things (IoT) will serve as a catalyst for the smart city concept by collecting data from sensors and connected users. City leaders will then be able to use this data to improve everything from water and electrical use to traffic and public safety. That is, of course, if they can keep these systems protected.

Improving Protection

The number of malware attacks focusing on IoT devices has multiplied over the past year as eight new malware families emerged. More than half of the attacks came from China or inside the United States, while high numbers also emanated from Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Vietnam.

No matter where the attack originates, poor security on IoT devices make them soft targets for breaches. As cities implement more IoT technologies they will need to make sure that device security remains a top priority. Historically, when it comes to this type of attack, hackers tend to be less interested in the victim and the majority wish to hijack a device to add it to a botnet, most of which are used to perform distributed denial of service attacks.

Hackers, though, could break into these devices to either steal or alter city data, or as a gateway into the larger enterprise.

Look to the Device

Securing the IoT takes great care and diligence, but is achievable. Any organization that uses devices or sensors to collect data needs to first look at their overall security posture and then turn to security at the device level.

Here are some key things state and local governments should look for to secure the IoT:

  • Secure devices with embedded operating systems. Use security systems that protect the leading embedded operating systems, including Linux, WNX and Windows Embedded operating systems.
  • Protect communications. Make sure to authenticate IoT devices and encrypt data transmitted throughout IoT systems and networks. Proper mutual authentication can help ensure that devices only accept connections and commands from authorized systems, avoiding the pitfalls hackers typically exercise.
  • Rely on code signing certificates. Control permission for code to run on devices, including cloud programs and Java file formats.

The IoT provides incredible promise for state and local governments looking to move forward with smart city concepts, but only if the technology can be secured properly. For more information about securing the Internet of Things, please look to these resources.

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