Discussion during the “Smart Country Convention” will explore the role of cybersecurity in smart cities

Next Wednesday, on the 23rd of October, join us for a discussion on digital integration and the role of cybersecurity in future cities at the “Smart Country Convention”. The discussion is organized by a “Digital Lithuania”, which is a Lithuanian IT company cluster. Lithuania has made its mark in the global cybersecurity sector – it ranks as number 4 in The Global Cybersecurity Index by ITU.

The world around us is transforming fast and economic situation seems to be getting to the backstage of the factors that affect our happiness and well-being. A smart city can be described as the city that incorporates information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance the quality and performance of urban services such as energy, transportation and utilities in order to reduce resource consumption, wastage and overall costs. Innovative technology solutions are aiming to make those interconnections more effective and enjoyable. Some cities can already be seen doing so: Singapore has a long history of paying attention to their traffic system, but recently they took a step further by using sensitive sensor technology to enhance and take the lead and become the most reliable and efficient public transport in the world. Oslo is another example as, by using technology to monitor and automate, they are aiming to become 95% climate neutral by 2030, hence smart street lighting, heating in public places, etc. have been introduced.

Smart cities in Lithuania

One of the smartest cities in Lithuania is Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Here you can move easily without having a car because of wide variety of mobility solutions. For example, mobile application created by Lithuanian developers called “Trafi”, lately introduced in Berlin and known as “Jelbi”, makes it easy to find the best suitable route by public transport, evaluates how long it takes to get from point A to point B and shows real-time schedule. Also, Vilnius has very efficient car sharing platform “Citybee”, that allows people to travel not only in Vilnius, but all around the country and even abroad. Additionally, citizens of Vilnius and guests can use several ridesharing apps, which allows to get a ride within a few minutes. So there is no need for a car if you live in Vilnius!

 Smart approach to cybersecurity

In Lithuania a great focus is put on a centralized, national approach towards Critical Infrastructure protection and gaining the key skills for cyber resilience. At the same time, cities are recognizing the need for contribution towards the collective cybersecurity in the country. Hence, the municipalities themselves are putting a lot of emphasis on cybersecurity via a variety of methods. Using the examples from Lithuania and abroad, the discussion participants will be exploring how a city should approach cybersecurity and what could be the role of a centralized city’s cybersecurity unit.