Smart Cities Governance Goals: Data Security

In the life and existence of a smart city, the right governance makes all the difference in how the city will evolve, adapt and develop further. Recently, the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance published its much-welcome policy roadmap, zooming in on a particular challenge that caught my eye and which I’ve discussed at length before: how governments around the world must handle the use of advanced digital technologies.

The roadmap is organised around five core principles: equity, inclusivity & social impact, privacy & transparency, security & resilience, and operational & financial sustainability.

Digital innovations around the globe and the Internet of Things have brought with them more pressing issues on the subject of data privacy and cybersecurity, which are aspects of huge importance to everyday citizens (more so now than ever) - and the issues around them are equally exacerbated by the proliferation of misinformation and the frequency of sensitive data leaks, which have damaged the public’s trust not just in institutions, but also large corporations. And during the pandemic, this has only become more problematic. 

Covid-19 has taught us that people now have high expectations in the innovation area when it comes to how city officials handle the ethical responsibility of having access to so much personal data. 

A recent crisis in this arena took place in Singapore, after it was revealed that the data stored by the country’s Covid contact tracing system had also been accessed by the police, breaching citizen trust - and while this move was later limited to only serious criminal investigations, the damage was already done. In hindsight, it is clear that stronger attention to governance could have prevented what many citizens now view as government duplicity. 

Cybersecurity and data protection are essential to ensure citizen safety in smart communities. And it’s an expectation that puts a lot of pressure on city administrations, with good reason. Securing a smart city requires a cybersecurity ecosystem that is efficient. Unlike consumer devices, components of smart city infrastructure can potentially impact millions of people on any given day, and these components also need to function reliably for at least decade or more, allowing to cut down on maintenance and replacement costs, in addition to being mindful of sustainability.

Another aspect in finding working solutions for this issue is to have different bodies sharing the responsibility for security. As Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer for the London City Hall says, “we need to work together to realise the potential of data to solve city challenges by putting it in the hands of those who can make a difference, but we also need to do it in a way that is safe, ethical and responsible.”

Tech providers, capital investment firms, city administrations and so on, can work together to ensure a flawless connected process and system that ensures the safety of citizens and all their valuable data. This is one important aspect to take into consideration the next time you’re voting for your new city governance: what is their take on these types of issues? How are they considering the digital safety of people in the city? What is their vision for a long-term strategy in this regard? 

I look forward to seeing what new initiatives will rise throughout cities in finding newer and better solutions, with the World Economic Forum’s roadmap as guidance.