Over the past decade, smart cities projects have gained a lot of attention in Canada. With the support of the Canadian government’s investment, the sector is poised for even greater success.
The concept of smart cities has become visible in recent years, and it has become a necessity for cities to become smart by adapting the advancement of technologies for the benefit of the city’s citizens. As early as 2017, when the Government of Canada launched the Smart Cities Challenge, more than 225 small cities, Aboriginal communities, and large urban centers from every province and territory wanted to explore the benefits of smart cities by investing in projects to digitalize their municipalities [1].
These cities represent the next generation of innovation and infrastructure for all aspects of life, ensuring improved quality of urban services and reduced costs. It is an urban area that uses various electronic data collection sensors to provide information to effectively manage resources and assets.
As can be seen, Canada supports the digitalization of companies in this sense. Virtual city projects are increasingly operating in all sectors, across different aspects and processing different data. This includes data collected from citizens, mechanical devices, assets, processed and analyzed to monitor and manage traffic and transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, information systems, schools, libraries and hospitals [2]. Due to this evolution and centralization of data, smart cities are susceptible to multiple espionage, sabotage, and disruption attacks from criminals and hostile state actors [1].
As the world experiences an evolution of smart cities, we can worry that this growth of innovation may pose data security challenges. Smart security devices and appliances are being used in many areas and interconnected through total connectivity known as the Internet of Things “IoT.” These devices will access a network of interconnected data ranging from location, updates and user privacy. The security of these cities includes the legislation of access to information and attacks causing disruptions in the availability of services. As digital individuals are increasingly instrumented, privacy seems to disappear [3]. As a result, inadequate data governance may cause harmful uncertainties in data access security: cyber-attacks, access to internal company systems. The Canadian government’s support for investment in new technologies is encouraging companies of all sizes and in all sectors to adopt new data security solutions.
If you are innovating technology that contributes to data security, you may be eligible for government funding through several programs including SR&ED, government grants, and sales tax recovery. Speak to a Leyton expert to learn more about your funding opportunities.
