Broadband Genie survey: smart city privacy and security concerns in the UK

In this recent research, Broadband Genie looked at the use of smart technology by British councils, and the public’ s opinion of it. Freedom of Information requests were submitted to councils around the UK asking for details of deployed and planned smart city programs, the allocated budget for these programs, who owned the data gathered and whether data was shared with third parties.

What do Brits think about all this? According to the survey of 2,030 people,  67% say smart city tech is not a  good investment for public funds. A similar number are also understandably skeptical about their personal information being retained.

The security of smart technology is crucial too. Not only could it be exploited to steal information, it could even be corrupted to damage and disrupt infrastructure. The survey also suggests  more effort needs to be put into making the public aware of smart city technology. Just 10% of respondents said they knew about  smart city projects around the UK.

Read the report here.