Managing the risks of Smarter Planet solutions

We live in a world in which powerful computers and network connectivity have become pervasive. Our systems and solutions can interact globally in ways that would have seemed impossible a few years ago. This combination of pervasive computing and high-speed global networking creates the environment known as Smarter Planet. Smarter Planet solutions involve an interconnection of systems and data that present an entirely new set of security and risk management challenges. The intention of this paper is to discuss the emerging threats and risks by considering examples from diverse Smarter Planet solutions. Root causes are identified by drawing on lessons from operational security, mathematics, economics, and social science. Finally, we highlight some measures that are being implemented to mitigate these threats and risks for the future. © 2010 IBM.