Page 60 - Cyber Defense eMagazine for July 2020

Software-Defined Perimeters Offer Secure Connectivity

to Smart Cities

By Don Boxley, CEO and Co-Founder, DH2i (www.dh2i.com)

Smart cities are on the rise—in a really big way. According to Microsoft, smart-city initiatives—which can
be defined as cities that rely on Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to obtain data that’s then mined to guide
management of city services and resources—account for nearly a quarter (23 percent) of the world’s IoT
projects.

As the number of smart cities mushrooms, these hyperconnected urban areas are becoming increasingly
critical to how seamlessly cities are able to operate. This is an important point to grasp, since cities serve
as the linchpin for most of the world’s data generation, as well as the majority of all energy consumption.
What’s more, most of us live in cities. The UN reports that just over half (55 percent) of the world’s
population makes a city their home—a figure that the UN predicts will rise significantly (close to 70
percent) in the next 30 years.

Here are some additional stats to impress upon you the importance of our urban areas in general, and
smart city growth in particular:

• Forbes reports that by 2025, we’ll be looking at approximately 80 billion devices that are smart
devices.

Cyber Defense eMagazine –July 2020 Edition 60
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