Over the past few years, there’s been an ongoing conversation about smart cities. 

Specifically, are smart cities just a trend for tech enthusiasts or something practical that can improve the lives of millions? 

Tech-heavy smart cities, in short, use advanced tech to collect data on traffic flow, waste management, utilities, and, in some cases, faces.

The goal is to use reporting tools to increase efficiency and optimization in the cities where the tech is implemented. 

However, these shiny, new cities also present new risks. Specifically with cybersecurity. 

Any situation that involves collecting large amounts of data, personal or not, creates an opportunity for hackers and cyber-attackers to break in. 

A big risk for smart city residents is the potential for personal identification info leaking.

This can be names, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, addresses, bank accounts, and more.

If that information is kept in by the city, there is a huge risk to citizens who live there. 

Luckily, some cities are aware of this and are taking measures to ensure data protection. 

For example, New York invested over $60 million this past February to establish a Brooklyn-based cybersecurity joint-operations center to service the multiple cities in New York.

Seattle also bumped up the city’s cybersecurity budget… going from $5.3 million in 2020 to $7.5 million this year.

Read below for more on that and everything I have my eye on this week…

	The Smarter the City, the Scarier the Cyber Risk As cities collect more data, cybersecurity is becoming more important than ever before. Read more…
	Big Tech’s New Anti-Hacking Strategy: Trust No One Hackers keep tricking employees to gain access to corporate networks, so companies are changing their approach to make it harder to wreak havoc once they’re in. Read more…
	Twitter, Elon Musk Spar Over Legal Preparations as Trial Date Looms The Delaware judge presiding over the takeover dispute has begun to set the contours of the October trial. Read more…
	Why Self-Driving Car Company Cruise is Bringing Chip Design In-House The GM-owned company is the latest to jump on the trend. Read more…
	Amazon’s Bezos, Jassy must testify in FTC investigation Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy must testify in an ongoing Federal Trade Commission probe into whether the company misled people into subscribing to Amazon Prime and other services, the agency said Wednesday. Read more…