In recent years, there has been a growing interest in so-called smart cities. These cities use technology to connect and enhance the lives of their citizens. Smart cities use many Internet of Things (loT) devices, such as sensors and video cameras, that are interconnected to provide constant feedback and up-to-date information on everything that is happening. Despite the benefits of these cities, they introduce a numerous new vulnerabilities as well. These smart cities are now susceptible to cyber-attacks that aim to “alter, disrupt, deceive, degrade, or destroy computer systems.” Through the use of an educational and research-based loT test-bed with multiple networking layers and heterogeneous devices connected to simultaneously support networking research, anomaly detection, and security principles, we can pinpoint some of these vulnerabilities. This work will contribute potential solutions to these vulnerabilities that can hopefully be replicated in smart cities around the world. Specifically, in the transportation section of our educational smart city several vulnerabilities in the signal lights, street lights, and the cities train network were discovered. To conduct this research two scenarios were developed. These consisted of inside the network security and network perimeter security. For the latter we were able to find extensive vulnerabilities that would allow an attacker to map the entire smart city sub-network. Solutions to this problem are outlined that utilize an Intrusion Detection System and Port Mirroring. However, while we were able to exploit the city's Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) once inside the network, it was found that due to dated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, there were almost no solutions to these exploits.
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Digital City Testbed Center: Using campuses as smart city testbeds in the binational Cascadia region
The collection and use of digital data by “smart city” programs raise complex operational and ethical questions that can best be addressed through carefully-monitored pilot studies before urban innovations are more widely adopted. We have created a network of single-owner campuses (academic, government, corporate and nonprofit) in the Cascadia megaregion that connects Portland (OR), Seattle (WA) and Vancouver (BC), where smart city products and services can be evaluated before deployment in neighborhoods and business districts. On the five initial campuses, we are co-locating assemblages of up to a dozen technologies through which issues of data interoperability, management, privacy and monopolization can be explored. The initial research and policy goals of this network are to educate the public about smart cities, improve accessibility for populations with disabilities, prepare city residents for natural disasters, and monitor urban tree canopies so they can better mitigate the urban heat island effect. If replicated in other regions, this testing approach can accelerate cities' responsible integration of data science solutions that can address both local and global problems.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2125672
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10383886
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- 2020 IEEE International Conference on Smart Computing (SMARTCOMP)
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 362 to 367
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/SMARTCOMP50058.2020.00078
