This is how 'hackers' threaten the security of the 'Smart Cities'

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

Technology makes our lives easier, more comfortable and, in theory, safer, but this can be completely the other way around. Human failures are more common than technological ones, but the latter can be seen by human interference, that is, they can be 'hacked'.

Check Point, a cybersecurity company with a worldwide presence, points out that advances in connectivity are extremely positive for society, but also represent a potential danger.

Today, who can imagine life without being able to access the Internet? Unfortunately, very few people in the Western world do not connect to the network daily. Work, vehicles, houses and even cities are becoming more intelligent due to the interconnectivity that unites them through the Internet of Things. Faced with this scenario of potential threat, Check Point identifies the most dangerous objectives of cyber attacks within the 'Smart Cities'.

According to data from the Digital In 2018 study of Hootsuite and We Are Social, there are about 8.485 million devices connected to the Internet. "Today there are more terminals connected to the network than people in the world, a figure that will grow exponentially in the coming years as more and more devices such as appliances, vehicles or even elements of cities add up. to network. This fact supposes that, in addition, every time there are more connection points to protect and a greater number of potential targets for cybercriminals," comments Eusebio Nieva, Technical Director of Check Point for Spain and Portugal.

Main cyberthreats

Smart cities are exposed to a multitude of threats that pose a serious risk to security not only in cyber terms, but for the health of all citizens. These are the main threats:

Control of traffic lights

Many cities have a central command post from which you can manage the status of traffic lights and traffic. This control station offers countless advantages, since it allows decongesting busy streets or favoring special service routes such as ambulances putting all the traffic lights in green, freeing obstacles from their path.

However, if we pay attention to the other side of the coin, in the event that a cybercriminal took control of this system, he would be free to handle all the traffic lights in the city and could put all the city's traffic lights on green, causing innumerable accidents

Attacks on smart cars

Advances in the 'Smart Cities' are also marked by the evolution experienced by vehicles, not only in relation to their energy source, but also to connectivity. In this sense, it should be noted that little by little the first autonomous cars are being glimpsed, which have countless sensors that allow to calculate the distance with all the elements that are around it, speed control and brake, etc. As in the previous case, a cybercriminal could take control of one or more of these vehicles and cause collisions.

Collapse the electricity network

Although it is not yet a visible threat given that in Europe self-management of electricity in homes is not an extended trend, the fact is that it will pose a risk in the medium term. A 'hacker' could take control of the power management systems of the power plants and distort the demand data, or even generate a blackout in an entire city. This type of attack would generate great economic losses to the electric companies.

Water supply

Smart cities have systems that allow controlling the flow of water, knowing if a leak has occurred, etc. Therefore, one of the main risks could be a cut in the supply or an increase in the flow pressure to damage the supply circuit. However, the biggest threat would be an access by the cybercriminal to the water processing center, where it could modify the chemical additive levels of the water and cause public health problems.

Surveillance cameras

The 'Smart Cities' have countless security cameras that are an easy target for a 'hacker', since you can use them to spy on people or the movements of a target and, in this way, access personal information and images.

"The implementation of technology with the aim of improving and facilitating our lives is a fact. However, in many cases the focus is only on the investment and the measures required to carry out this innovation, obviating the necessary security measures to be protected from increasingly powerful threats," concludes Eusebio Nieva.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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