Innovation, cybersecurity and technology officers from 80 municipalities worldwide are heading to Tel Aviv to attend the First International Cyber Security Conference for the Municipal Sector, with the aim of learning how to keep their connected cities safe from the hundreds of daily cyber-attacks that can immobilize critical infrastructures.

The conference will be held as part of the Federation of Local Authorities Conference and the MUNI-EXPO urban innovation conference, February 13-14.

Participants will meet with leading cyber security experts from Israel and the world, for a global brainstorming session on the challenges and threats of smart cities. Among the activities will be simulated war-games, sessions on cyber defense strategies, and introduction of current and future technologies.

Experts in the cybersecurity industry will present various innovative tools of defense and cyber-threat assessment.

Among the speakers are Israeli Minister of Economy Eli Cohen; Jonathan Reichental, chief innovation officer of Israel Electric Corporation; Roy Zisapel, cofounder and CEO of Radware, and former Mossad Director General Tamir Pardo.

“The more we move towards smart cities, in Israel and worldwide, threats increase – whether over information systems or computerized control systems responsible for critical infrastructure necessary for proper life in the urban sphere,” said Barak Shahar of the Federation of Local Authorities.

Shahar said that nearly 30 percent of local authorities and municipalities don’t have their own Internet domain, so employees rely on Gmail, Hotmail, or other webmail clients that don’t have a high level of security clearance.

The Federation of Local Authorities is setting up a shared, cloud-based smart-city center for Israeli municipal activities such as tax collection, public inquiries, preschool registration, purchasing orders, veterinary systems, contract management, salaries and human resources.