Diversity of cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is more than just the technical configuration of equipment. It is a series of conditions meant to ensure an overall state of safety for humans and nature, in relation to the use of technology. Simple life facts (that sometimes may even seem not correlated to cybersecurity at all) may represent factors that can endanger security of the cyber-physical environment without knowledge and track.

For example, a data leakage from a tertiary service (that has nothing to do with urban facilities) may offer to hackers a key for entering Smart City systems or for exploitation of personal data that are directly linked to public administration. This could be happening as a consequence either of misconfiguration of systems, or of human (unintentional) errors.

Or, an eventual gap in accountability over specific security responsibilities between two parties (e.g., due to inadequate contractual provisions) may leave unprotected areas – in terms of technology, processes or humans – which hackers would exploit unrestrictedly, since no one is in charge to take action for preventing and counteracting those associated risks.

Or, some fraudulent activities conducted in cyber-physical world may not be legally held accountable due to mismanagement or altering of evidence chain, or to a lack of regulation provisions that should incriminate those specific type of activities.

At first sight, these may seem soft problems, that can be fixed by simple decisions or by adjustment of social bureaucracy. They tend to be left out of cybersecurity discussions or receive a lower priority, the main efforts being concentrated on the development and deployment of security technology. But, in essence, they may pose serious challenges in the security context, since they can create social effects that cannot be reversed and also need longer times to be adjusted for reinforcement of the general eco-system's robustness.

Cybersecurity is a complex techno-social phenomenon that needs all-round provisions and actions which would evolve synchronously. The complementary cybersecurity provisions come to consolidate the processes and humans' sides of the digital eco-systems, offering the tools for a balanced development of the overall security of Smart Cities and to society in general.

Individual and collective decisions need to be aligned to technological society we live in. Judicial and administrative systems (including organizational policies and procedures) need to be adapted so as to incorporate provisions related to the common use and presence of technology in our lives. Bureaucracy needs to be updated and aligned to digitalized environments and services. Education needs to consider technology as a domain of study and to approach it both explicitly (in a dedicated manner), as well as implicitly (in correlation with other subjects/topics).

More detailed information on how to approach Cybersecurity in relation to specific humanistic topics may be found in Library/ Documentation related to social considerations of Cybersecurity.

In particular, an overall image on complementary aspects (including social considerations) of Cybersecurity may be found in [Popescu, 2021].

As well, information related to the application of Cybersecurity in different social domains at EU level may be found in Regulations related to Cybersecurity.

In a similar direction, Ethics and Privacy PG describes considerations related to the social implications of technology, with a focus on Smart City contexts.