Twitter: @smtaylor12
I was recently fortunate enough to participate in a joint webinar with the CISO for the District of Columbia, John MacMichael and the CISO for the City of New York, Geoff Brown. We had close to 100 attendees and the hour-long session spanned topics like:
- Smart city projects currently underway
- Constituent-consumed services (such as utilities), the inherent reliance on smart devices and their inner-connectivity
While the benefits of connected smart cities are vast, my portion of the discussion took a somewhat more grim tone as I focused on the scope of the problem presented by the smart (or sometimes dumb), uber-connected devices that ultimately enable smarty city projects and services. I provided a glimpse into the challenges facing cyber practitioners regarding the innumerable numbers and permutations of IoT devices and the inherent difficulties in trying to secure them. My point was simple: take a step back and simply try to SEE all of these connected devices. Only after you have visibility, can you begin to secure them.
The webinar was a great opportunity to talk about practical scenarios of real-world smart city initiatives and the challenges faced by government entities in balancing the delivery of the services while ensuring the security of the underlying infrastructure.
ForeScout CounterACT® is uniquely positioned to provide visibility of connected devices, both traditional IT and non-traditional IoT alike. We help organizations SEE what is on the network and establish policies around how to handle or CONTROL them. We can help you find that balance.
For more information on how to secure your Smart City in the era of IoT, listen to the webinar recording.