Defending the Grid: A Cybersecurity Audit of Smart City Infrastructure

The Objective: Safeguarding Urban Digital Systems

In early 2026, a regional municipal corporation approached Kian Technologies to conduct a full-scale vulnerability assessment of their Smart City network. The infrastructure included interconnected traffic management, water supply sensors, and public Wi-Fi zones. The primary concern was the potential for an attacker to gain control over the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems that manage city-wide utilities.

The Investigation: Identifying the Weak Links

Our team of security researchers identified several critical architectural flaws during the discovery phase:

• Protocol Vulnerabilities: The traffic light sensors were using unencrypted Modbus protocols, allowing for potential "Man-in-the-Middle" (MitM) attacks.
• Legacy Integration: Older water pump controllers were connected to the modern cloud network without a proper security gateway, creating a legacy-entry backdoor.
• Exposed IoT Endpoints: Over 50 public surveillance cameras were found using default manufacturer passwords, making them vulnerable to botnet recruitment.

The Kian Defense Strategy

We implemented a Layered Defense-in-Depth strategy. First, we isolated the OT (Operational Technology) network from the public IT network using industrial-grade firewalls. We then deployed an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) specifically tuned for industrial protocols to flag any anomalous command patterns.

The Transformation:

By enforcing certificate-based authentication for every IoT device, we ensured that unauthorized hardware could never connect to the city grid. We also established a centralized Security Operations Center (SOC) dashboard for the municipal authorities to monitor real-time threat levels. This project successfully neutralized over 1,200 potential entry points for hackers, securing the city's digital future.

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