In 
Smart City Mission is a Government of India initiative that aims to improve the management of a city using the digital technology and Internet for updating its information constantly and dynamically allocating its resources to provide adequate amenities to its citizens, according to the need of the moment.
The information is gathered using a number of smart devices, sensors, transmitters, instruments to constantly monitor various parameters, whether about traffic, air quality, water or waste flow; and then is centrally processed. Each and every of these data-gathering devices as well as the central servers use Internet for communication and so, are potential victims of a cyber attack.
That is why cybersecurity should be part of the planning stage of a smart city and not an afterthought.
In the traditional approach, major investment is on planning, implementing and monitoring a project but generally a thought is given to the protection of the investment only after a threat or an actual attack.
This common mistake should be avoided in planning for a smart city.
The city-planners can take a leaf out of cybersecurity issues handled by industries and enterprises, where cybersecurity has practically become the backbone. It was not always planned beforehand. As the industries and enterprises went ‘online’ (started using Internet for controlling various processes because Internet gives many advantages over the traditional methods) the need for cybersecurity arose and the industries and enterprises invested in advanced cybersecurity tools to protect their ‘information assets’ like intellectual property, business plans, pricing information, industrial control processes etc. The industries and enterprises are also training their personnel in the cybersecurity discipline as well as hiring cybersecurity experts and launching ‘security awareness’ campaigns for their workers.
Our dream smart city will have adequate water supply, assured electric supply, affordable housing, sanitation, solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity and digitization, good governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation, sustainable environment, safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly, and health and education. This long wish list is taken from the ‘Smart City Mission’ of the Government of India. Are these not the expectations from a well-run municipal corporation? Yes, but as the urban populace increases and the cities become megalopolises, they cannot function with traditional approaches. They need smart solutions.
For example, urban mobility requires integrated transport system with intelligent traffic management, integrated multi-modal transport and smart parking. The information will be collected from on board devices, event data recorders, GPS and video monitors. An app on your smart phone will constantly provide information about the best route, best mode of transport, traffic congestions and availability of parking to plan your journey in a smart way. Energy management will require smart meters, renewable sources of energy, and energy efficient green buildings. Water management, waste management will require similar smart solutions.
Planning and running a smart city will require constant update of the information. These information systems will have to be reliable, secure and built with enough redundancy to survive a catastrophe. Such a digital network will be the back bone of a smart city. This will not be an isolated network but will be part of the Internet. As such, the smart city network will have to be a very secure and robust network. All the security implementations like segmentation, network partitioning, security devices like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, security incident and event management systems, end point security and access controls systems should follow internationally accepted cybersecurity frameworks.
A cyber attack on a ‘smart city network’ is nothing less than an act of war by the cyber-terrorists. We need tremendous amount of well-trained and well-equipped manpower, cybersecurity practitioners as well as experts to counter the cyber attacks. Cybersecurity experts are in extreme short supply. We need to first create a sizable team of cybersecurity practitioners. This is not a simple task. We do not even have enough cybersecurity trainers. Our colleges do not teach cybersecurity. We have to take this task on a high priority. This will also create new job opportunities. India’s dream of becoming a cyber security power house could be realized through this investment in cybersecurity skill building. We should follow only international best practices for cybersecurity trainings. This will help in global acceptability of our expertise in creating and maintaining secure, smart cities.
Finally, citizens residing in smart cities will have to become smart and alert citizens. Citizens using smart devices like smart phones have to be aware of doe’s and don’ts of cyber security. They will be the first line of defense and should be able to detect and report anything unusual. They will become the real-time sensors to give intelligent and immediate feedback on the state of cybersecurity. Citizens should be taught the skills of self-defense for cybersecurity.
The author is Advisor - ISACA India Cybersecurity Initiative
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