Information Security Aspects in a Smart City

Anton D. Nazarov

Ural State University of Economics, Yekaterinburg, Russia

Keywords: Smart City, Information Security, Data Protection.

Abstract: The article considers the specifics of the functioning of smart cities in terms of ensuring their security. Typical

risks and vulnerabilities of large settlements of the digital future are mentioned. The key aspects of the process

of ensuring confidentiality, integrity, availability of socially and economically significant information are

identified. The ways of solving certain problems of protecting the infrastructure of modern smart

megalopolises are outlined.

1 INTRODUCTION

Regarding the long-term upfront growth in resources

used in production, in comparison with the growth

rate of final product in the modern economy, there is

a replacement in technological systems, a complete

restructuring of all outdated systems. The basic

foundations of the state economies are changing

radically. In our country, the position of the enterprise

as a key element of the economy is being replaced by

a municipal entity.

More than 40% of the world's population

currently lives in cities. The need for sustainable and

high-quality management of the metropolis

infrastructure requires significant technological

innovations in all systems of functioning of huge

human settlements. For this purpose, it is necessary:

a) to modify the exploit and control of social and

economic structures; b) to re-evaluate the country's

resources in accordance with the new circumstances;

c) to develop high-quality strategies to achieve the

objectives set (Kuznetsova et al., 2017).

From about 2015, in Western America and

Northern Europe, in order to ensure a modern level of

population quality of life, the development of smart

cities projects commenced. It is expected that the

most efficient utilization of available resources

through the use of innovative technologies will allow:

- to use urban life systems economically;

- to provide a high standard of environmental

protection, maximum life safety of citizens;

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8299-1834

- to provide thigh quality services to the people.

According to experts, a smart city is, first of all,

people living in comfortable conditions due to

intelligent management of transport systems, street

lighting, the interaction of citizens with the

authorities, receiving medical and educational

services, and ensuring the personal safety of

individuals.

2 MATERIAL AND METHODS

The implementation of smart technologies into the

urban environment will allow: to significantly

improve the procedure for the production,

distribution, consumption of electricity; to reorient

the transport system towards the pedestrian; to

redirect any contacts of people between themselves

and with the authorities online; to reduce the burden

on the environment; to provide an instant exchange of

information about the treatment of a patient by a large

number of doctors; to receive by learners and students

knowledge from teachers from anywhere in the

world.

Abroad, projects to create smart cities are being

actively implemented in the USA, Spain, England,

France, Singapore, and Japan.

The first studies show: more than 9 billion euros

in electricity savings per year in Barcelona; a

noticeable increase in the efficiency of street lighting

in New York in comparison with traditional types; an

132

Nazarov, A.

Information Security Aspects in a Smart City.

DOI: 10.5220/0010619800003170

In Proceedings of the International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference on Computer and Information Security (INFSEC 2021), pages 132-135

ISBN: 978-989-758-531-9; ISSN: 2184-9862

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

increase in the quality, rate of interaction between the

population and the authorities in London; almost one

hundred percent consistency in the work of public

services in Nice; creative application of transport

management systems in Singapore.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Particular attention in the smart megalopolises of the

Land of the Rising Sun is paid to ecology: only the

energy of daylight is used for heating and lighting

dwellings, public transport is represented mainly by

bicycles and electric vehicles (Tsakanyan, 2017).

Several universities in the United States of

America and the United Kingdom have studied and

compiled data on the results of the use of "smart"

electricity, water, gas counters (30% resource

savings), motion sensors and energy-saving lamps

(70% savings), the implementation of energy-saving

technologies in the construction of buildings on the

territory of universities (up to 30% savings), the

implementation of video monitoring systems for the

territory (20% savings on the maintenance of the

protection service), intelligent transport management

systems (reducing the bus travel time on campus,

reducing the emission of pollutants from them).

In our country, there are attempts to implement

the smart city system elements in Moscow, St.

Petersburg, and Kazan. Interesting projects are being

developed in Siberia. Digital management of housing

and communal services and transport is being

introduced in Moscow. A unified city information

system is being formed. In St. Petersburg, smart

services are being introduced into the security

management systems, management of municipal

structures of the city. The capital of Tatarstan is being

equipped with a unified urban video surveillance

network and Wi-Fi, intelligent control of the urban

environment and ecology. The city is equipped with

traffic flow sensors, controlled traffic lights.

A smart city is a complex social and technical

object that requires a multi-stage, extensive system to

ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the

infrastructure, of each individual citizen: as a

consequence of the informatization of production

processes and living conditions, information security

threats of all areas of life are changing.

The threat is understood as the potential

possibility of impeding the concealment of

integrated, self-sufficient, autonomous data,

information, preventing information leakage, which

harms the smooth functioning of the infrastructure of

a smart city (Denisov, 2016).

In the specialized literature, threats to the

information security of smart cities include:

- unlawful non-repayable seizures of an

intangible nature made for personal gain: copying

data, assigning rights to a resource;

- illegal acquisition of personal data, intellectual

property;

- loss, intentional, unintentional damage to

information and data;

- intentional or unintentional input errors,

distortion, falsification, data substitution;

- destruction of information carriers or

information on them;

- blocking communication by creating

interference, setting bookmarks;

- compulsion to use false information;

- destruction of technical means, digital

infrastructure;

- deliberate or accidental deviation from the

procedure for the operation of technical resources;

- breach of the normal operation of the system,

due to certain actions of users or persons serving the

structure: an increase in the number of requests to

indicators higher than the calculated norms, too large

amounts of information to be processed;

- occurrence of errors as a result of configuration

of the structure;

- malfunctions in the operation of software or

hardware;

- violation of data integrity;

- failure to respect the principles of work by

users: unwillingness to master new skills, acquire

new skills required to work with the system (Chipiga,

2017).

To solve the above problems, it is necessary to

know and to understand the popular demands as

accurately and in detail as possible; to combine

physical and digital planning methods; to predict,

quickly identify problems; to respond quickly to

emergencies; to improve the quality and rate of

service delivery systematically and regularly, thus

increasing their productivity. To know and be able to

prevent the causes of the vulnerability of digital

resources: a) massive amounts of generated,

collected, stored, used data, intellectual property,

commercially significant information; b) a diversity

of contractual instruments, mechanisms for managing

information interaction between enterprises and

organizations. To predict emerging risks: quantum

technologies, by means of which it will be possible

to process information millions of times faster than

now; cheap satellite Internet delivery from near-earth

orbit; IoT Internet connection for consumer

electronics, cars, environmental sensors and many

Information Security Aspects in a Smart City

133

other devices; displaying information into text,

contextual views out of text, audio and video formats;

the emergence of new ways to exploit the service of

determining precise location of an electronic device

using the Internet, new ways to provide for personal

needs of users, new ways of requests and analytics

based on public identity; minimal or complete

absence of human intervention in the operation of

machines to identify and process data, to use them for

various purposes; the possibilities of biometrics to

penetrate into a person's personality and its functional

changes.

Analysis of possible risks in the system of

functioning of smart cities resulting in the

identification of key aspects for their minimization or

complete elimination to ensure digital security

(Vladimirova et al., 2015).

Distribution of efforts on three levels: services

(education, medicine, tourism, public safety); objects

(residential buildings and premises, offices, trading

floors, clinics, schools, preschool educational

institutions); infrastructure (energy and water

resources, transport, waste disposal, information and

communication technologies).

Compliance with key requirements: focus on

providing the basic needs of the individual;

manufacturability of interconnected objects of the

city, ensuring its functioning; increasing the level of

resource management of the urban environment, as

well as its comfort and safety; commitment of

economic efficiency.

Widespread implementation of innovative

electronic and engineering solutions.

Regular, integrated accounting of public

incidents, forecasting non-standard situations,

developing ways to respond to them.

4 CONCLUSION

Compliance with the established rules for the work of

structures and their management.

Systematic monitoring and control of data

received from devices, sensors, stationary and mobile

tracking objects, broadcasting the results to the

appropriate subsystems in order to anticipate non-

standard situations, quick response to incidents.

Tracking the crime situation in real time.

The use of biometric platforms, intelligent

surveillance, recognition and location detection

systems for shots from firearms.

Identification of weaknesses in the security

system of infrastructure facilities.

Instant interagency information interaction.

Advanced training of personnel providing

information security in smart megalopolises.

Legislating owners and users of information in

smart cities.

Educating the population in a reasonable,

conscious, careful use of digital resources, and in

taking personal responsibility for the security of

personal data.

Improving the nature of the interaction between

police authorities, service providers, and other

products in smart cities.

Knowledge, appreciation, timely prevention and

prompt overcoming of cyber threats will allow

actively resist aggressive, harmful effects on the

functioning of "smart" cities of various negative

phenomena and factors, improve the quality and

standard of living of the population in modern

megalopolises (Kupriyanovsky, 2017).

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