On 28 October, M-Sec EU and Japanese partners joined together to promote a much needed discussion on how to minimize security vulnerabilities in a range of IoT devices, making cities more cyber-secure
On the 28th of October, at 9am CET (Brussels time), all eyes were on M-Sec’s Webinar “Minimize security vulnerabilities in a range of IoT devices”. This Webinar was the first of a series of Webinars organized by the project that will showcase the project’s results, after two years of intensive research on how the M-Sec architecture could better solve security challenges in hyper-connected smart cities, and it was dedicated to the IoT layer of the M-Sec solution.
Our experts Aamir Bokhari, from YNU, Arturo Medela, from TST, and Akira Tsuge, from Keio, presented fact-based objective information on their research to reach a truly-secured IoT system in the framework of the M-Sec project. The presentation focused on 3 important topics: the role of IoT in smart cities, associated threats and risks, and some innovative approaches to ensure security and privacy in a smart city.
During the discussion, it became clear that there are still a lot of challenges related with exchanging data in smart cities all around the world, and that security requirements become essential for citizens using computers and smartphones, the most commonly used IoT devices, which are continuously being subject to cyber attacks.
According to our experts, the IoT can be considered a “hot topic” due to its role in smart cities. As people continue to flock to cities, these need to become more efficient in order to keep up with the surging population. Therefore, the smart cities concept arises and has become the norm in major metropolitan areas around the world, with cities leveraging technology solutions and using data to improve infrastructure, public utilities and services, and the living experience of the residents. And this is why municipalities use IoT sensors, networks and applications to gather relevant data, such as traffic congestion, energy usage, and air quality. Thus, confidentiality, integrity and availability of the IoT data used in public services is important for improving the infrastructure and citizens lives.
The event was very dynamic, and our experts surely were able to engage the audience until the last minute. In the end, the question on everyone’s minds was: since IoT data needs to be collected in order to improve decision making on people’s lives in a smart city context, how to ensure that it is reliable and trustworthy? According to our experts, the basic way to protect data is through security, and this is the aim of the M-Sec solution that is being developed – to mitigate security and privacy vulnerabilities, employing multiple layers of security utilizing software and hardware-based security techniques.
What a great event this was! Whether you did not have the chance to watch the Webinar or you enjoyed it so much that you want to go for it a second time, here is the recording of the event: