OPENSPACE 23: The Satellites that Are Shaping Our Future | Page 9

The city of Montreal, Canada, recently invested in a
security plan to strengthen the resilience of its water
systems to potential cyber-attacks.
O
n May 12, 2017, hackers exploiting the malicious
software WannaCry executed one of the most
Prevention is Key
Because
local
governments
are
aware
of
the
destructive cyber-attacks ever seen. The malware devastating consequences that an attack can have on
forced Britain’s public health system to send patients away, critical infrastructure, cities are increasingly investing in
froze computers at Russia’s Interior Ministry, and brought strengthening their security strategy. For example, the city
down more than 200,000 systems in 150 countries. of Montreal, Canada recently invested in a security plan to
These attacks are examples of the security flaws in strengthen the resilience of its water systems to potential
industrial control systems used by municipal infrastructures cyber-attacks. The municipality is assessing the vulnerability
such as water management, energy, and transportation. The of the IT systems used in its drinking water production and
2016 Cyber Security for Smart Cities report by European distribution plants and wastewater treatment facilities in
Union Agency for Network and Information Security order to be able to predict potential attacks.
(ENISA) identified key areas where improvement is needed Other cities are implementing incident reporting measures
for municipal security. These areas include increasing to protect citizens’ private data and the cities’ critical
the collaboration among actors, raising cybersecurity infrastructure. In 2016, the Dutch government implemented
awareness, and tackling the lack of transversal information a directive that obliges all Dutch municipalities to register
sharing on threats and incidents. security incidents involving their data and infrastructure. This
Critical infrastructures of cities should now more than ever measure showed that cyber-attacks are more common than
operate in a collaborative, secure, and resilient environment. we think. During its first year of implementation, 172 of the
An organized security attack on municipal infrastructures 290 municipalities in the Netherlands (44%) registered an
could take over the control of power grids, financial services, incident.
energy providers, healthcare databases, and other critical
infrastructure, resulting in catastrophic consequences such
as blackouts or disruptions to an entire city’s water supply.
Read more
https://www.rheagroup.com/news/rise-cities-one-most-affected-
cyber-attacks
January - April 2017 09