London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Watch out for hackers, Britain's spy agency tells smart cities

Watch out for hackers, Britain's spy agency tells smart cities

Cities embracing technology to improve urban life risk falling prey to hackers, Britain’s cyber security agency warned on Friday, urging local authorities to ensure smart cities are armed with digital defences.
Criminals and foreign governments can target technologies deployed to improve city services such as sensors and internet-connected devices to steal sensitive data and cause disruption, said Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

“New digital technology is going to improve our lives and help protect the environment, but it is essential we take steps now to make connected places more resilient to cyber attacks,” Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said in a statement.

From sensors monitoring pollution to traffic lights designed to cut congestion, technology can help cities cut planet-warming emissions and make services more efficient, the NCSC said, as it published new cyber security guidance for local authorities.

But as more services become interconnected, the risks increase, said the NCSC - the tech security arm of Britain’s eavesdropping agency GCHQ, warning that failures could lead to “breaches of privacy” and even “endanger” residents.

“The ‘smarter’ cities become, the more valuable a target they will become because more data will be available to compromise and more disruption can be caused,” said Alexander Hicks, a computer science researcher at University College London (UCL).

To illustrate the risks, NCSC Technical Director Ian Levy cited cult 1969 film “The Italian Job”, in which a professor creates a gridlock by switching magnetic storage tapes used for traffic control, allowing thieves to escape with a haul of gold.

“A similar ‘gridlock’ attack on a 21st century city would have catastrophic impacts on the people who live and work there, and criminals wouldn’t likely need physical access to the traffic control system to do it,” Levy wrote in a blog post.

Some cities around the world have already suffered from crippling hacks.

Last September, German prosecutors opened a homicide investigation after a woman died when her ambulance had to be diverted because the first hospital it arrived at in Duesseldorf was unable to admit her due to a cyber attack.

And in 2019, hackers demanding ransom shut down the cyber network of Johannesburg City Council, months after hitting the South African city’s energy distribution company, in an attack that left customers struggling to access a number of services.

Such recent incidents have been a wake-up call for businesses and authorities, which have often prioritised developing new tech services over security, said Enrico Mariconti, a lecturer in security and crime science at UCL.

“For a very long time security has been the annoying part when creating a product,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an online interview.

“What we’re seeing now is that with breaches becoming more and more common, the cost of designing from the beginning something more secure is much less than that of getting hit just once.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
×