IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Capterra’s Eduardo Garcia delves into the vital role of cybersecurity for smart cities, providing strategies for fortifying urban environments against evolving threats

As smart cities continue to evolve, projects are being implemented by local authorities, universities, and organisations across the UK. These projects include integrating diverse advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G. However, they face a pressing challenge: cybersecurity.

The City of Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and the second most populous city in the country. It is the seat of the Scottish Government and the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

As well as serving a vital role in government, the city is economically significant for the region, attracting global tourism as well as being home to a world-renowned university. Protecting citizens and visitors as they move through the city and keeping Edinburgh’s roads running smoothly is of the utmost importance.

In a groundbreaking move, Glasgow has taken a significant step towards becoming a smart city by introducing autonomous security patrols. This innovative initiative is deploying AI-powered robots throughout the city center to enhance public safety.

The robotics project is part of Glasgow City Council’s vision to integrate cutting-edge technology into urban life. The robots, equipped with advanced surveillance cameras and sensors, can monitor crowded areas, detect unusual activity, and alert authorities in real-time. The autonomous machines are guided by sophisticated algorithms that allow them to navigate busy streets and adapt to various situations, ensuring minimal disruption to daily routines.

€24 million were granted from the German IT Investment Programme to a list of winning IT companies in order to provide the citizens by November 2010 with an IT-Security toolkit that will facilitate and ensure a secure use of the new eID card.

As India embarks on retrofitting old cities to make them smart and investing in new urban developments, some conceptual rethink is needed to make them safer. Town planners and security professionals are increasingly collaborating, using concepts from behavioural sciences, environmental psychology and criminology while designing urban habitats. One such initiative is called Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). Many of the concepts of CPTED are part of the Indian tradition, though they may have been lost sight of in the course of urban evolution. With modifications, standard urban planning can address the needs of community safety and policing much better.

irupati Smart City MD Narapureddy Mourya directed the officials to set up CCTV cameras in all areas in the city for effective traffic management and also to enhance monitoring and vigilance.

Tirupati: Tirupati Smart City MD Narapureddy Mourya directed the officials to set up CCTV cameras in all areas in the city for effective traffic management and also to enhance monitoring and vigilance. She said that under integrated command control center and as part of the Smart City project, CCTV cameras are proposed to set up covering the entire city including newly came up localities for various purposes.

As per recent data, CCTV surveillance system has assisted police in solving more than 250 cases in the past seven months, which include cases like murder, snatching, road accident, hit and run, motor vehicle theft, burglary etc,” said a statement issued by the Smart City Limited.

It was added, “As many as 5,47,900 challans have been issued from March 2022 till February 26, 2023, which has resulted in improved road safety as well as reduction in traffic personnel deployed."

The Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), Chandigarh, got third position in ICCC Maturity Assessment Framework (IMAF) 2.0 among all smart cities. It topped in cyber security category. This recognition came after an on-ground audit by the Quality Council of India (QCI).

The award was presented by Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary and Mission Director, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, during Smart Cities CEOs Conference on Data and Technology held today at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

UT Police have proposed to install 2,000 CCTV cameras across the city. The cameras will be placed at V-3, V-4, V-5 and V-6 roads, in parks and entry and exit points of different sectors. The police department has already communicated this proposal to the MC chief engineer, who also serves as chief general manager of Chandigarh Smart City Limited, through an official letter.

Amid rising digital security concerns, the central government is likely to consider the Railway Ministry’s proposal to make cyber security testing mandatory for the purchase of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras by all government agencies. BLiTZ has received this information.

Ministry of Railways has requested NITI Aayog to consider the proposal for mandatory cyber security clearance of cameras. It has also sought a go-ahead for testing of the associated software by the Directorate of Standardization Testing and Quality Certification (STQC), a statutory body of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister Anil Vij on Friday informed the Assembly that the state government was planning to install CCTV cameras in all cities.

Appropriate guidelines in this regard were being issued.

Replying to a question on the second day of the monsoon session, he said earlier CCTV cameras were installed in Smart Cities by the Urban Local Bodies Department but the maintenance of which was being taken care of by the Home Department.

Approximately 2,000 locations in Gurugram will be equipped with around 10,000 cameras to cover the entire road length of about 400 kilometers, according to GMDA

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is set to roll out the third phase of its extensive CCTV coverage project, aiming to install 10,000 CCTV cameras along 400 kilometers of the main road network under their jurisdiction, officials said. This phase seeks to enhance the safety and security of residents by providing comprehensive surveillance across the Millennium City, covering main road networks, public places, and community areas, they added.

With an aim to strengthen full-proof security here in Gurugram, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will install 10,000 smart cameras across the city in the third phase of the CCTV surveillance project, officials said.

Under this, 400 km of road will be covered and about Rs 422 crore will be spent on this project.

This proposal will be placed in the GMDA board meeting to be held under the chairmanship of the Haryana Chief Minister. It will be taken forward after the CM's approval.

836 cameras functioning

• The number of cameras installed in the city was nearly 1,200 two years ago
• An official of the district administration said only 836 CCTVs are functioning
• The network is known as red light violation detection and is used to keep vigil in the city
• Several cameras were rendered non-functional due to poor maintenance, thefts and infrastructure projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

The project to install 1,500 CCTV cameras, which was launched in 2019-20, under the Smart City project in the city is nowhere near completion. The police have asked the authorities concerned to provide another 566 cameras for the project, which was launched to improve law and order in the city.

With traffic law violations on roads posing a significant challenge to the authorities concerned, CCTV cameras, installed under the Smart City project have emerged as an important tool for enforcing rules.

These cameras not only monitor traffic flow but also detect violations, helping curb reckless driving. Traffic violators are being issued challans online after being captured by cameras installed under the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) situated on the second floor of the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC). These violations, include jumping red lights, illegal parking, speeding, using a mobile phone while driving, failure to wear a helmet and triple riding.

Rs 60 crore project aims to boost security with AI-enabled cameras, face detection technology

The Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA) has issued a new tender for the installation of 1,050 additional CCTV cameras across the city, with an estimated cost of Rs 60 crore. The move is expected to triple the city’s CCTV coverage, significantly enhancing law and order surveillance.

The authority has also covered the entire sports complex with CCTV cameras and the space can now be monitored from the GMDA command and control centre at its office in Gurugram’s Sector 44

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has turned the Tau Devi Lal stadium into a free Wi-Fi zone by installing ‘hotspots’ at seven locations as a pilot project, which if successful will be replicated across the city. GMDA officials said that the free Wi-Fi hotspots are currently being used by officials and government staff and they will create a backend soon, which will allow people to use it for free provided the pilot project is successful.

In the last 18 months, the Karnal police have issued 67,617 traffic challans after violations were captured through CCTV cameras installed at 63 points under the Karnal Smart City project’s Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) initiative. Challans amounting to Rs 9.99 crore have been issued to the violators from November 2021 to April 30 this year.

CEO Srinagar Smart City, Owais Ahmad Thursday said that over 1,000 cameras have been installed across the city under the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) to curb traffic violations.

Speaking with reporters, the CEO said that cameras are designed to capture various traffic violations, including seatbelt and helmet non-compliance, mobile phone usage while driving, and jumping traffic signals.

This year, Shravan falls on July 23. But, the Deoghar district administration and police, even in the wake of today’s Gaya attack, claim to be better prepared.

“We have received an alert from intelligence agencies and are leaving no stone unturned to ensure watertight security in and around Baidyanath temple,” Deoghar SP Prabhat Kumar, after reviewing temple security today, told The Telegraph.