UK and international partners publish joint guidance to help communities create secure smart cities

The UK and international partners have published new advice today (Thursday) to help communities balance the cyber security risks involved with creating smart cities. The new joint Cybersecurity Best Practices for Smart Cities guide, issued by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ – alongside agencies from the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, is designed to help ensure connected technologies are integrated into infrastructure in a way which protects systems and data. It highlights that smart cities, or connected places, have the potential to offer communities cost savings and quality-of-living improvements, but notes these benefits must be balanced with the risks. These risks include an expanded and interconnected attack surface, risks from the supply chain and vulnerabilities that can be introduced by automating infrastructure operations. Communities considering adopting smart cities technologies are encouraged to consult this new guidance to understand the risks and how to mitigate them.

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/uk-international-partners-joint-guidance-help-create-secure-smart-cities