London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 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
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
×