Do you think your smart city is secure?
Security. The word that is uttered and discussed over and over again, is especially popular now, in the era of ‘smartness’. Can security be understood doubly? In this case, yes.
Let us walk you through the systems that enhance the security in your smart city and solutions that keep an eye on these very systems themselves.
The development of smart cities is quite a new phenomenon and this is the reason why the time has come to think about people’s safety. It is the proverbial ‘two birds with one stone’ situation. Not only do people get a new, smart and functional environment, but now they can also feel safe in it.
Since sensors are embedded in almost all new devices, they can provide much needed monitoring of the surroundings, which is why there have been many ideas on how to introduce security to the cities. We decided to comment on some of them.
- Safe streets – monitoring of the roads is a perfect solution not only when you are in a hurry, it can also keep you safe from potentially hazardous situations. Sudden overtaking, increased traffic and lack of parking spaces is the tale of the past, since the data about all of the above is gathered and updated in real-time to make your journeys as smooth as possible.
- Safe pavements – motion-activated street lights come in handy whenever you happen to walk home after dark. They work by detecting the presence of human, so the moment a person steps on the pavement it lights itself to slowly dim when it’s empty. This solution, however simple it sounds, has one additional merit – it can save a lot of energy.
- Safe borders – newly installed solutions in smart cities have one other advantage, namely intelligent layout of properties. This enables them to monitor the borders and flow of incoming people.
The main idea behind smart solutions is that they accelerate the gathering of data. That is the primary reason for introducing security, since very sensitive data needs to be protected, making maintenance of technology much more complex.
What should be done to secure the information?
- Work with professionals – collaborating with security organisations is a smart move. Not only will they keep an eye on the city and its growth, but also take care of security updates which should be implemented regularly.
- Be picky – there are a lot of systems that have become obsolete through the years. It’s best to disable or replace them – this move will help reduce the energy usage, as well as free the resources.
- Use authorised access – encryption and regular changing of passwords is the imperative here. This should go hand in hand with employees’ turnover and software updates.
As you can see integrated and smart solutions can ease the lives of citizens. The earlier you decide to implement these practices, the better, not only to feel safe, but also to be safe, because technology will only become more sophisticated in time.
