Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

In 2023, people's daily life gradually recovered from the shadow of the epidemic, and the increased dependence on various Internet services during the epidemic is accelerating the transformation of smart cities from concepts to reality. In the "Smart City White Paper-relying on Smart Services, jointly creating New Smart cities (2022)" jointly compiled by the National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center, China Industrial Internet Development Alliance, and the key Laboratory of the Ministry of Analysis and Integration of Industry big data. The development of smart cities in China has developed from the 1.0 model of single-point breakthrough to the 3.0 model of collaborative comprehensive governance with the integration of industry, city and people. Under the Smart City 3.0 model, the concept of the Internet of everything will accelerate its landing. Therefore, in the era of the proliferation of networking devices and the close relationship between people's daily life and the Internet, how to ensure Internet security has undoubtedly become a challenge that IT decision-makers at all levels have to face.

Recently, Check Point Software Technology Co., Ltd., the world's leading provider of network security solutions, presented its thoughts and suggestions on the development trend and challenges of smart cities.

What are the challenges facing smart cities in 2023?

Smart cities face unique challenges in terms of network security. Public and private entities, individuals and thousands of Internet of things devices use the Internet every day. There is a large amount of data exchange between these networks, so strict security policies need to be implemented. Some of the major challenges include:

Connected devices: a large number of Internet of things devices control everything from closed-circuit television and traffic light management to business processes to personal and financial data. In theory, this situation actually provides thousands of potential entry points for hackers.

Automation of infrastructure operation and maintenance: automation brings many benefits to the operation and maintenance of smart city, which can reduce the need for direct manual control of related operation and maintenance systems. However, the increase in the number of sensors means that more connections need to be monitored and managed, which in turn leads to an increase in the number of targets invaded through vulnerabilities.

The data management process is not up to standard: data is the core of the smart city and is critical to day-to-day operations. But many cities lack the right processes to ensure that this information is safely and reliably managed. If the database is not properly regulated, hackers can easily attack and destroy, resulting in the disclosure or theft of sensitive data.

Risks posed by ICT supply chains and vendors: in recent years, users have become well aware of the risks posed by supply chains and third parties. A good example is the zero-day vulnerability recently discovered in the file transfer software MOVEit, which was exploited by attackers to launch large-scale blackmail software attacks. Attackers continue to target the weakest links, so intelligent infrastructure systems are bound to become fat in the eyes of cybercriminals. To address this threat, we must adopt and follow security designs and default practices to minimize these risks.

Outdated technology: many cities' infrastructure and networks use outdated technologies, so they are extremely vulnerable to cyber attacks. It is critical to ensure that the system uses the latest software updates and security patches. Technology is the key to the success of a smart city, and the construction of an elastic system should be the first priority.

Inefficient security protection: inefficient security protocols are directly related to outdated technologies, exposing smart cities to malicious threats, leaving individual and business users vulnerable to data disclosure, identity theft, and loss of sensitive information. Strong security measures to protect existing infrastructure can prevent potentially catastrophic attacks. So how do decision makers ensure that the safety and privacy of people living and working in smart cities are not violated?

Give priority to prevention and improve network resilience

Research shows that by 2024, there will be more than 1.3 billion WAN smart city connections. The complexity of these digital infrastructure continues unabated, which means that any digital service implemented by governments or companies is vulnerable to cyber attacks. In China, IDC predicts that the investment scale of the government-led smart city ICT market will reach 38.9 billion yuan by 2026, with an average annual compound growth rate of 17.1% from 2022 to 2026. Thus, to realize the potential of smart cities, IT decision makers must find an effective balance between managing risk and promoting growth.

He Weiguo, general manager of Check Point Greater China, said: "when hundreds of millions of devices and users connect to the network and use network services anytime, anywhere, if you have the traditional security concept of 'making amends', the consequences of security problems will be unimaginable. For a long time, Check Point has adhered to the idea of "prevention first" in the field of network security, especially relying on Check Point ThreatCloud AI, the most powerful threat intelligence engine in the industry, users can calmly deal with the challenges of lawbreakers in the way of'AI against AI'. This year, Check Point has proposed three'C 'defense systems in the face of unknown threats: Comprehensive (comprehensive), Consolidate (integration) and Collaboration (collaboration). No matter where smart city users are, whether they connect to the network locally or in the cloud, at the terminal or even the code level, Check Point can help enterprises provide comprehensive protection, manage in a unified platform, and help users deal with local, cloud, PC, and mobile security issues. " Mr. he Weiguo further pointed out: "it is one of the keys to build resilience to protect cities from these attacks. IT decision makers should develop network security strategies that match the ambitious goals of smart cities. This will help reduce the risks associated with the interconnection of urban processes and systems. Any effective strategy should require an assessment of current data, systems, and network defenses, as this helps to understand the current state and quality of the infrastructure. "

The security of the Internet of things has a long way to go

There is no doubt that the vision of the Internet of everything in a smart city is inseparable from the security of the Internet of things. Therefore, there is a technical need to take a proactive approach to ensure that users can always maintain "prevention first" security in technology planning and equipment deployment. Check Point security experts strongly recommend combining "security design" with an in-depth defense approach. At the same time, when some traditional infrastructure is connected to a smart infrastructure, security policies may need to be redesigned to ensure secure connectivity and integration.

Wang Yuelin, technical director of Check Point in China, said: "Cyber criminals have come to realize that Internet of things devices are one of the weakest links in the network, and most of them are not properly protected or managed. For vulnerable Internet of things devices (such as cameras and printers) and other such unmanaged devices, attackers can establish an initial foothold within the corporate network by stealing direct access and privacy information. in turn, rampant activity in the compromised network. Therefore, it is important to prepare in advance at the beginning of the deployment of the security policy. This year, Check Point recently launched Check Point Quantum IoT Protect. This is a component of Quantum'Titan' version R81.20, which revolutionizes network security by precisely intercepting the most covert zero-day DNS, phishing, and IoT attacks. With the assistance of ThreatCloud AI, this component helps users automatically discover and effectively protect Internet of things assets in minutes. "

The further landing of the smart city will not only bring a lot of convenience to people's lives, but also bring new help to the recovery period of enterprises after the epidemic. Therefore, it is particularly important to operate flexibly and safely, to try our best to avoid operational interruption, and to customize emergency measures for interruptions. Network risk control and defense can not be achieved overnight, whether we can maintain the security concept of "prevention first" at any time, and the development of safety and compliance will become one of the main "winners and losers" of whether Smart City 3.0 can land.

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