Analyzing security threats and mitigation techniques for fog computing in IoT-enabled smart cities

Abstract

In the midst of rising urbanization and advancements in technology, Smart Cities have developed as a crucial response to the complexities associated with urban liv ing. A significant contribution to the development of automated smart cities has come from the fusion between IoT fog-based technologies. This integration facili tates instantaneous data processing, optimization of resources, and improved citizen services. Nevertheless, as these systems get more complex and interconnected, they become subject to many security threats. This thesis examines the major security issues introduced by Fog Computing in Smart Cities. Fog Computing is an exten sion of cloud capabilities to the network infrastructure edge, resulting in enhanced data privacy, decreases latency, and brings new risks that will require additional investigation and mitigation. This study begins by providing a thorough expla nation of the fundamental principles underlying Smart Cities, the use of IoT and Fog Computing in building said smart cities, thereby facilitating a comprehensive comprehension of their interconnectedness. Subsequently, this paper investigates the security vulnerabilities that threatens the use of Fog Computing with IoT based Smart Cities, with a particular motif on the potential vulnerabilities pertaining to in fringements of data privacy, unauthorized access, network congestion, and associated apprehensions such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, the dissemi nation of malware, and physical manipulation. These strategies encompass resilient authentication mechanisms, encryption protocols, intrusion detection systems, and blockchain technology. Finally, this thesis analyzes Fog Computing security vul nerabilities in IoT-based Smart Cities and emphasizes the solutions for proactive approaches to protect these revolutionary urban ecosystems’ integrity, privacy, and resilience.