FEATURE : SMART CITIES
has been a proliferation of cloud-native applications which is also becoming critical for such projects . The increasing use of low-code / no-code to launch digital platforms are on the rise .
Joshua Raphael , Founder and CTO of Parket , said with a focus on building Smart Cities , environment sustainability consists of elements of energy , transport , building and pollution .
Essie Mokgonyana , Country Manager and Sales Director , SAS South Africa , said citizens want and expect cities to use technology in ways that make services more effective , efficient , and responsive . Mokgonyana said for Smart City initiatives to be
CITIZENS WANT AND EXPECT CITIES TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN WAYS THAT MAKE SERVICES MORE EFFECTIVE , EFFICIENT , AND RESPONSIVE .
successful and deliver expected benefits , a clear and agreed-upon vision for the initiative is required .
“ In Smart Cities , governments use technologies such as the Internet of Things ( IoT ), communications , social media , data storage and analytics . However , IT projects present new data management , integration , and cost challenges to local governments . The potential to analyse ever-growing amounts of data streaming from sensors in devices such as streetlights , water meters , public transportation systems and more requires the establishment of a strong analytical backbone , including a centralised data store , as the framework for city government ,” she said .
Raphael said with a focus on transport , a move towards smart mobility and reducing the CO2 footprint is the main driver behind the development of smart and sustainable cities . “ Improving energy efficiency and traffic conditions are among the greatest advantages . The move towards smart mobility , globally , is driven by growing populations and a broad consensus to put sustainability front and centre of our shared future . Any success requires collaboration between the private and public sectors , with a focus on sectorspecific approaches to energy , transport and building practices ,” he said .
Kaspersky ’ s Opil said because a Smart City is a cyberphysical system , meaning both physical safety and digital security are essential for the smooth operation of city services , for a Smart City to flourish , protecting IoT and systems with the highest cybersecurity demands is essential .
“ Cybersecurity practices for Smart Cities should include basic measures , such as encryption and strict password policies , vulnerability management , network segmentation and a Zero Trust model , as well as firewalls and dedicated protection for any cloud infrastructures that the Smart City ’ s systems and applications are connected to .
“ On top of this , dedicated IoT security solutions , such as security gateways , need to be in place to connect IoT devices with business applications while ensuring the security of the communications and data transferring through them . In organisations where the IT infrastructure is connected to Smart City objects and systems , endpoint , and network protection with the ability to detect and respond to diverse threats should be used ,” he said .
Mokgonyana explained as data continues to grow , it becomes increasingly important for cities to quickly integrate and manage it all – including data created by IoT devices . “ Because cities are collecting data faster than ever , they accumulate massive volumes of data that must be securely stored , managed and accessed . Leveraging the capabilities of the cloud makes most sense , since this involves simply renting data storage and using operational budgets to pay for it rather than spending capital budgets to buy equipment . And One of the biggest benefits of cloud-based storage is its flexibility regarding storage and computational power , as both can scale on demand to meet the city ’ s needs ,” she said .
Yotasha Thaver , Research Analyst-Security Software , IDC Sub-Saharan Africa , said from a security point of view , it becomes very important to protect Smart Cities from cyberattacks and extortion , hacking and data theft as the technology adoption increases the threat landscape . Thaver said with this regard , government , private sector , software developers , device manufacturers , energy providers and network service managers need to collaborate to integrate security into all technology solutions and manage the security services efficiently .
“ It is important for data to be made available in real time while identity and access management
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