New guidance on securing connected places for local authorities
James
As the UK's towns and cities increase their dependence on technology to deliver a smart, connected experience for residents, they run the risk of being victims to cyber attacks - says new guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), released today.
The guidance sets out a number of cyber security principles for 'connected places' in order to promote secure design, build and management of public realm technology, infrastructure, and data-rich environments for local authorities. NCSC is part of GCHQ.
The threat is very real: in October last year Hackney suffered a cyber attack, which the London Borough expects to cost it in the region of £10m to recover from. This follows another cyber attack on Redcar Council in February 2020 that has cost it £10.4m.
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According to the NCSC guidance, the first step in designing, building, and operating a connected place is to fully understand the risks and potential impacts on a Local Authority, and the role of suppliers in mitigating - but also being unwitting vectors - of threats.
Having developed understanding and context for a connected place, Local Authorities' priority should be to design their connected place to minimise exposure, protect data and ensure effective monitoring.
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