Smart Minds, Smarter Cities

We met for coffee with the CEO and Co-founder of Configured Things, Simon Arnell. With his knowledge of smart cities, we couldn't wait to sit down with him and discuss data sharing, emerging technologies and how Cheltenham can set an example for smart city innovators.

This series aims to highlight leaders in our community, Do you know a changemaker we should highlight? Get in touch at goldenvalley@hbd.co.uk

Lessons in Classified and Corporate Communication

In 2017, Simon and his co-founder Patrick Goldsack saw an opportunity to blend their unique skill sets. The pair met while working for HP Labs, the corporate research and development labs of Hewlett-Packard, where Simon specialised in information security and Patrick in very large-scale systems management. 

"We asked ourselves, 'Where do our skill sets intersect with society's needs and the direction of technology adoption?' The answer was large federated systems such as smart cities and connected places, where systems and organisations are interconnected and the security requirements are complex. In such environments the problem is greater  than just data; it’s also the sharing of systems and control. We also need to consider how these advancements impact stakeholders like the local police, fire departments, and citizens. The challenge is securing each stakeholder-made change happening independently but affecting one another directly – but bound by what they have explicitly authorised."

When we talk about smart cities, it’s easy to visualise a purpose-built, ultra-modern metropolis, but, in reality, it often means our existing towns and cities implementing advanced technologies to deliver better, more efficient public services. This is why security is so important, because it’s mostly existing teams and infrastructure adapting to the changes. 

Within three months of forming the business, they were accepted onto the NCSC for Startups accelerator programme from the National Cyber Security Centre. "Being part of this was valuable on many levels; it not only internally validated that we were onto something, by association it gave us a subtle nod of approval on an external level too."

The NCSC taught them lessons in cross-domain, a little-known and niche area of cybersecurity that means safely importing and exporting information in classified environments. 

"Our ultimate goal is to achieve government-level security in smart cities and connected places, enabling stakeholders to safely share data and request changes to shared infrastructures - creating systems that span organisational boundaries."

A Natural Draw to Information Security

When asked about his journey into cyber, Simon explains he was always drawn to the topic. "During my third year studying computer science at Royal Holloway, University of London, we focussed on information security which showed me a career in this space would lead to interesting problems. I then went on to do a master's in information security." 

According to Simon, "cybersecurity is both the answer and the challenge". Most things we do in cybersecurity present a trade-off between productivity and security, requiring investment financially or through changes in behaviour. "While technology plays a crucial role, people and the processes we design around them are at the heart of cybersecurity challenges - choosing to invest and balancing these three aspects correctly, determines how well we resist and recover from threats to our organisations."

We discussed how even non-digital roles require a basic understanding of data and its implications. Those operating life-saving systems or home devices need, at the very least, a basic understanding of what data is being collected, what information it gives about an individual and the implications of sharing it alongside other datasets. 

The Future of Smart Cities

Describing smart cities as a sociotechnical problem, Simon explains that whilst these inherently rely on technology, it’s in design, integration and use that define whether it is secure or not. In the UK we’re fortunate that our government is active in providing guidance to support smart city and connected places builders to do the right thing, ensuring cybersecurity is also considered. 

Configured Things partnered with Plexal and Daintta, through the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology’s Secure Connected Places Playbook which he explains has been of great personal interest. The aim of this is to offer simple guidance around creating secure environments for our smarter cities. They are now working with a further 13 authorities across the UK to aid implementation. 

“We’re discovering how to support the diversity of local authorities that exist within the four nations; learning the nuances of what support is provided by the devolved governments and how to enhance support for smaller local authorities. 

One of the really knotty problems is getting people to do the right thing in a way that is sensitive to their individual needs. In the UK, we have the challenge of so many authorities. For example, locally, the Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester County Council, or Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council, and the West of England Combined Authority. Each of these operate at different levels but to some extent need to collaborate and cooperate to achieve their goals."

Configured Things is seeking to enable different organisations to share valuable data and control with each other securely while protecting them from each other. 

"It's about understanding how connectivity in these environments changes and how we can help everyone stay secure long-term.This will enable them to make decisions that improve our cities, for example, a local police force sharing crime data with the local council to inform the time and location of street lighting to keep us safe. In this context, we could also give the police force the ability to turn lights on if needed for an incident, prioritising over the local authority’s needs to reduce its power consumption"

With advancements in artificial intelligence and automation, there is a greater need for policies and controls to maintain a secure environment. "We think multi-person authorisation should be in place where AI can make decisions, that way we get its benefits where it is safe, but have appropriate safeguards to protect against bad data or malicious agents who seek to exploit the automation that AI brings."

What's Next?

Simon is currently working with NCSC, Plexal and Cheltenham Borough Council to guide how they can best use technology locally. "I believe you create your luck by putting yourself in the right places to attract it. Cheltenham's close community is definitely a space for this."