Securing Critical Infrastructure on Internet of Things for Smarter Cities

Internet of Things technology is now more widespread than many people realize. Systems that fall under the IoT umbrella are popping up in an array of settings, even outside consumer circles. Today, every group from enterprise businesses to city governments is utilizing intelligent, internet- and Bluetooth-enabled devices to make a variety of critical capabilities possible. Now that these systems increasingly make up critical infrastructure in cities and businesses across the globe, the IoT is even more attractive to hackers. Smart systems are under attack, and the organizations that run and support this technology must take the proper steps for protection. 

When critical infrastructure systems, like those used in emergency situations, are combined with technology, cities can reap a multitude of benefits. Connected systems are easier to use, and streamlined utilization can make a big difference when time is of the essence. When these systems aren’t protected correctly, though, they could fall into the wrong hands and be used in a way that wasn’t initially intended. 

Today, threats to critical infrastructure are increasingly through electronic, radio-frequency or computer-based attacks on the information components that control critical infrastructure. Cyber systems form the central infrastructure of critical sectors, nearly all of which use IT to facilitate core business processes. The cyber systems of critical infrastructure are thus high-value targets for attack, as disrupting them entails extensive economic, political and social effects. AS cities continue to grow smarter, they will also become easier to hack. With millions of dollars going into research for urban domains and the Internet of Things (IoT), there will be more opportunities to utilize technology to define access and improve smart city services and infrastructure. In these smart cities, information security plays a huge role in protecting the highest levels of confidentiality, availability and integrity for city resources and utilities. 

In terms of infrastructure, Cities will get smarter over time. This is inevitable as governments slowly move towards techno-utopianism. Whether these cities are built from the ground up or built around and over established metropolises, it is always important to balance functionality with security. Taking these factors into consideration our special issue will address the emerging risks in critical infrastructure with the rise of the IoT, and towards explaining the cyber threats to business and governments in the face of an expanding IoT. Both theoretical studies and state-of-the-art practical applications are welcomed for submission. All submitted papers will be peer-reviewed and selected on the basis of both their quality and their relevance to the theme of this special issue.

The list of possible topics includes, but not limited to:

• Innovative architecture and infrastructure for IoT
• Tools, services, technologies, algorithms and methods for data analysis in IoT
• IoT standardization and implementation challenges
• Security solutions for IoT data
• Innovative techniques for IoT infrastructure security
• Security challenges and mitigation approaches
• Devices and protocols security for IoT
• Challenges and risks in Smart Cities
• Protection of critical infrastructure and autonomous vehicles
• Communication issues with intelligent things
• Cyber Security protection of IoT based critical infrastructures
• Mitigating the privacy risks in critical infrastructure
• Cryptography, authentication, authorization and usage control for IoT in cloud
• Cyber attacks detection and prevention systems for IoT
• Situational awareness and security metric
• Ethical and legal limitations of attack retaliation measures

Notes for Prospective Authors

• Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere• All papers are refereed through a peer review process. • All papers must be submitted online. To submit a paper, please read our submitting articles page.• If you have any queries concerning this special issue, please email Prof. Ganesh Gopal at dganeshgopal@gmail.com

Important Dates:

Manuscripts due by: 15 November, 202Notification to authors: 31 December, 2020Final versions due by: 31 January, 2021

Guest Editors:

1. Prof. Dr. D. Ganesh Gopal
   Professor
   School of Computing Science & Engineering
   Galgotias University
   Uttar Pradesh, India
   dganeshgopal@gmail.com
    
2. Prof. Dr. GAI-GE WANG
   Associate Professor
   Department of Computer Science and Technology
   College of Information Science and Engineering
   Ocean University of China
   Qingdao, Shandong, China
   gaigewang@gmail.com
    
3. Prof. Dr. Paris Kitsos
   Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
   University of the Peloponnese, Greece
   kitsos@uop.gr