Data Security in Smart Cities: Challenges and Solutions

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide an extensive overview of security-related problems in the context of smart cities, seen as huge data consumers and producers. Trends as hyper con-nectivity, messy complexity, loss of boundary and industrialized hacking transform smart cities in complex environments in which the already-existing security analysis are not useful any-more. Specific data-security requirements and solutions are approached in a four-layer frame-work, with elements considered to be critical to the operation of a smart city: smart things, smart spaces, smart systems and smart citizens. As urban management should pay close atten-tion to security and privacy protection, network protocols, identity management, standardiza-tion, trusted architecture etc., the paper will serve them as a start point for better decisions in security design and management.