An analysis of 20 smart cities by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has uncovered widespread cybersecurity risks, including malware infections, botnet attacks, and misconfigured networks.
The study, conducted in collaboration with cybersecurity firm Kaspersky and released on February 17, found that trojans and botnets were among the most prevalent threats, while weak network security protocols further increased the risk of cyberattacks.
"The most prevalent vulnerability observed was allowing remote connections to unauthorised computers," the report, which didn’t name the cities, said.
As smart cities increasingly rely on interconnected digital systems, these vulnerabilities pose a significant challenge to rendering public services and protecting citizen's data.
The study found that smart cities in western, central, and northern India were primarily affected by trojans such as Avalanche-Andromeda and Gamarue. These trojans enable remote system takeovers and electronic espionage.
In the south, the more pressing issue was botnet infections, with Socks5Systemz being widely detected.
According to the report, this malware enables infected systems to act as proxies, potentially implicating them in criminal activities without the knowledge of their operators.
Many smart cities in the region also suffered from misconfigured Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) settings, which could allow unauthorised access, interception of network traffic, or denial-of-service attacks.
"The Smart City ecosystem, with its integration of IoT, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, creates a complex attack surface vulnerable to a wide range of cyber threats,” the report said.
"The primary challenge with respect to security solutions for Smart Cities is the heterogeneity of data types, interfaces, and carrier types. The complexity of such collaborating systems increases exponentially to manage data and privacy of a Smart City implementation.
"This creates a huge and complex attack surface with a cascade effect as there are numerous points of attack because of the interconnected sensors and devices creating an Internet of Everything."
CERT-In has recommended that Smart City operators take a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity, focusing on network segmentation to isolate critical systems, stronger security protocols for IoT devices, and real-time threat monitoring.
Addressing misconfigurations, restricting remote access, and conducting regular penetration testing are also crucial measures, it added.
The agency has stressed the need for smart cities to comply with national cybersecurity guidelines, including mandatory incident reporting and strict log maintenance policies.
Launched in June 2015, the Smart Cities Mission aims to boost urban development by selecting cities competitively, involving stakeholders in projects, and using technology for better governance. The mission was extended till March 2025 to complete pending projects.
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