adopted by municipalities could be exploited by adversaries such as the Chinese government to harvest sensitive data, target diaspora communities, and interfere in elections.”9 A successful cybercriminal could control our water supply or electricity and transportation systems through the artificial intelligence used to optimize public services. CSIS warns that simply by using a public cloud, Canadian municipalities may inadvertently agree to partnerships with third-party vendors with foreign interests, who would then have access to Canadian data. According to the CSIS report, a cyberbreach could have dangerous consequences: “This sort of exposure will have serious financial, social, and health and safety implications in Canada. Imagine a scenario where a co-ordinated cyberattack took down safety locks that prevent catastrophic explosions at a petrochemical facility, while simultaneously controlling traffic lights to inhibit the emergency response.”10 Continuous monitoring of the entire ecosystem in a municipality’s digital framework is necessary to detect, block, and mitigate at the first sign of an attack. That can be difficult on a foreign-owned public cloud with unknown global thirdparty resources. A smart cloud for smart cities Planning for a cyberattack is the best defence against cybercrime. A smart cloud approach analyzes outcomes and deploys the best solution—a strategy that allows municipalities to plan for resilience, rather than relying on a reactive approach after an attack occurs. In Canada, ransomware attacks on public service have targeted the Canada Revenue Agency, the Toronto Transit Commission, and Canada Post. U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Maryland, and New Orleans, have suffered ransomware demands that crippled services and incurred financial damages in the millions. Hackers are getting smarter, and while it’s impossible to fully protect a city from every cyberattack, defending digital infrastructure—with built-in automated detection, frequent upgrades, robust backup and data management systems, and hybrid solutions for data storage—can block attacks, and in the event of a breach, mitigate damage, protect sensitive data, and restore operations quickly. John Slater, Chief Security Officer at ThinkOn, says, “Digital transformation is necessary in today’s global world. It is a huge opportunity to streamline operations, increase efficiencies, and automate ESG. And you should not have to sacrifice security or compliance to make that happen.”11 A smart cloud, operated and managed by a government-approved domestic provider, enables smart cities to keep citizens safe while enjoying the benefits of streamlined communications, lower operations costs, and a greener economy. Learn more about cloud smart solutions with ThinkOn at www.thinkon. com/public-sector/ References: 1. Liu, K., C. Meng, J. Tan, & G. Zhang. 2023. “Do smart cities promote a green economy? Evidence from a quasi-experiment of 253 cities in China.” Environmental Impact Assessment Review (99). 107009. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.eiar.2022.107009 2. nvest Stratford. “Smart Community.” https://www.investstratford.com/ smart-city 3. Trapenberg Frick, Karen, Giselle Mendonça Abreau, Nathan Malkin, Alexandra Pan, Alison E. Post. 2021. “The Cybersecurity Risks of Smart City Technologies.” CLTC White paper series. University of California, Berkeley. https://cltc.berkeley.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2021/03/Smart_City_Cybersecurity.pdf 4. Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. 2023. “Cyber Security Best Practices—Smart Cities.” April 19. https:// www.cyber.gc.ca/en/news-events/ joint-publication-cyber-security-bestpractices-smart-cities 5. European Commission. “Smart Cities.” https://commission.europa.eu/ eu-regional-and-urban-development/ topics/cities-and-urban-development/ city-initiatives/smart-cities_en 6. Trapenberg Frick, Karen, Giselle Mendonça Abreau, Nathan Malkin, Alexandra Pan, Alison E. Post. 2021. “The Cybersecurity Risks of Smart City Technologies.” CLTC White paper series. University of California, Berkeley. https://cltc.berkeley.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2021/03/Smart_City_Cybersecurity.pdf 7. Craig McLellan. 2022. “Canadian Cloud Difference.” Canadian Government Executive. https://canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/the-canadiancloud-difference%EF%BF%BC/ 8. Government of Canada. 2022. “Privacy Management Framework.” Last modified May 16. https://www.canada. ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/ security/privacy-management-framework.html 9. Jim Bronskill. 2023. “Canada’s spy agency warns ‘smart city’ platforms pose security risks.” Global News. March 9. https://globalnews.ca/ news/9538658/smart-city-technology-security-risks-csis/ 10.Cybersecurity Ventures. 2022. “Cybercrime Damages To Cost The World $8 Trillion USD in 2023.” Newswires. December 15. https://www.einnews. com/pr_news/606505844/cybercrime-damages-to-cost-the-world8-trillion-usd-in-2023 11. John Slater. 2023. “Cyberattacks Cost Organizations Millions in Revenue Loss and Reputational Damage: The Hidden Threats of Missing Out on the Right Cybersecurity.” ThinkOn. Last modified March 3. https://thinkon. com/blogs/hidden-threats-of-missing-out-on-the-right-cybersecurity/ As the leader of a global team of data experts dedicated to the public sector, Paul West is the face of ThinkOn’s commitment to making data thrive for government and public service organizations. His mission is to provide strategic advice, leadership, governance, and stakeholder engagement on community-driven data solutions including secure cloud services, resilient design, and enterprise applications serving the government, healthcare, public safety, and industry sectors. Decades of experience bringing technology and security resources to public services means he understands the barriers to effective data stewardship: budget restraints, escalating costs, security risks, data accessibility, sovereignty, security, governance, privacy issues, and organizational silos. Summer 2023 // Canadian Government Executive / 17 Sponsored Content PERSPECTIVE
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