Why Would Anyone Want to Live in a Smart City When IoT Already has an Almost 75% Failure Rate?

By B.N. Frank

66% of Americans don’t want to live in “Smart Cities.” Smart Cities require Internet of Things (IoT) technology which has an almost 75% failure rate. No kidding.

Over the past few years, almost every security expert on the planet seems to have advised against installing IoT. Regardless, proponents are still trying to convince everybody that “Smart Cities” are worth the local financial investment (aka your tax dollars) and cybersecurity risk. So basically “Smart Cities” require dumb people.

From recent Nextgov article, “Managing the Risks Inherent to Smart Cities:”

(emphasis added by author)

The scale and speed at which smart devices are deployed, their interconnectedness via unstructured networks, and the novelty of the technology all increase a city’s risk of crashes and hacks, the security think tank says.

Appropriate risk management requires that officials establish a framework with a tested incident and emergency response plan—a concept “Smart and Safe: Risk Reduction in Tomorrow’s Cities” outlines.

[…]

Senior city executives must first decide when and how to connect devices and systems to each other, and only after procuring secure ones, according to the guide. Secure devices and systems are certified, while the guide suggests that cities make sure that they patch and upgrade them regularly, change default passwords, encrypt communication, and strongly authenticate users.

Mapping the network is key to ensuring data goes only where it’s intended, the guide adds.

Secondly, a smart city network must be resilient enough to continue delivering critical services like public safety at predetermined levels in spite of glitches or attacks.

“Nobody’s quite figured out how to be totally resilient,” Forman said.

(OMG!)

Coastal areas are subject to hurricanes and tidal waves that could threaten IT facilities, he added, so physical resilience is just as important as cyber resilience in an emergency.

(OMG!!!!!)

[…]

“In most connected cities, data is being collected almost instantaneously by license plate readers, traffic cameras and toll booths,” Forman said. “In some cities, the culture doesn’t support that collection and retention.”

Lastly, a government structure is needed that supports multi-million-dollar security improvements through collaboration with civic groups and other stakeholders, according to the guide. In that way, the city can prioritize investment in line with local security needs, Forman said.

While major cities have more money to spend on smart city projects, their officials are just as likely to fall into risk management pitfalls as small city officials, Forman said. Everything comes down to the tech savviness of local leadership to understand the policy and economic impacts of smart infrastructure.

Be honest – do you trust your local leadership with all of this?

People who install IoT in their own homes are doing it at their own risk. Local businesses and elected officials who endorse as well as force the installation of IoT and “smart” infrastructure and technology in communities are doing it at everybody’s risk. It’s shameful – and probably criminal – especially since they’re doing this with tax dollars.