An Overview of Cyber Threats, Attacks and Countermeasures on the Primary Domains of Smart Cities

A smart city is where existing facilities and services are enhanced by digital technology to benefit people and companies. The most critical infrastructures in this city are interconnected. Increased data exchange across municipal domains aims to manage the essential assets, leading to more automation in city governance and optimization of the dynamic offered services. However, no clear guideline or standard exists for modeling these data flows. As a result, operators, municipalities, policymakers, manufacturers, solution providers, and vendors are forced to accept systems with limited scalability and varying needs. Nonetheless, it is critical to raise awareness about smart-city cybersecurity and implement suitable measures to safeguard citizens' privacy and security because cyber threats seem to be well-organized, diverse, and sophisticated. This study aims to present an overview of cyber threats, attacks, and countermeasures on the primary domains of smart cities (smart government, smart mobility, smart environment, smart living, smart healthcare, smart economy, and smart people). It aims to present information extracted from the state of the art so policymakers can perceive the critical situation and simultaneously be a valuable resource for the scientific community. It also seeks to offer a structural reference model that may guide the architectural design and implementation of infrastructure upgrades linked to smart city networks.

Automated summary

A smart city utilizes digital technology to enhance existing facilities and services for the benefit of individuals and businesses. The interconnectivity of critical infrastructures and increased data exchange aim to automate city governance and optimize services. However, the lack of clear guidelines for modeling these data flows leads to scalability limitations. It is crucial to raise awareness and implement cybersecurity measures to protect citizens' privacy and security. This study provides an overview of cyber threats, attacks, and countermeasures in various domains of smart cities, serving as a resource for policymakers and the scientific community, and offers a reference model for infrastructure upgrades in smart city networks.