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In the near future, will robotics and connected devices/systems replace human beings completely? An example would be security robots in place of security guards. Could we soon see the day when we will have to rely completely on technology? What will be the implications of this?

The nature of threats to public safety varies enormously from organized crime and terrorism to accidents and natural disasters. Protecting the public against safety threats requires considerable intelligence, experience and intuition of frontline public safety officers. In addition, there are great differences between how different public safety authorities are structured and organised, and how they respond to threats from the policy level to the operating procedures adopted in each case.

For these reasons robotics, connected devices/systems, AI and Machine Learning will not completely replace humans in ensuring public safety. Instead, technology will complement human activities where these activities have routine processes, can be readily automated, require big data analytics, come with high risks to humans or are beyond a human’s capability.

Public safety typically involves four core stages of threat management - Prevention, Detection, Response and Recovery. Let me give some examples of tasks appropriate for robotics and connected devices/systems within the first three phases.

Prevention Robotics can assist in public safety routine

patrols by using analytics technology to recognise and assess faces,

number plates, behaviours, and events. Drones can also be

used for mid-air patrolling particularly in built-

up cities,which often have ‘blind zones’. In addition, vehicles carrying hazardous materials can be used by criminals as weapons or can cause serious threats to

the public if they are involved in an accident.

By using connected devices and systems

together with advanced analytics, public safety officers

can disable the vehicle’s engine if it is going off course to prevent a

potential catastrophe. Likewise, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) can be monitored

and managed to ensure safer roads.

Detection Robotics, drones and connected devices/systems can help detect threats. However, better sensory and big data analytics are needed to improve the reliability of such automatic detection of threats to avoid inappropriate responses, for example where a threat is found but not real. The European Union’s eCall 112 project is a good example of how connected vehicles can automatically dial the emergency center to report an accident. AI can also be used to screen emergency calls (999, 911, 112, etc.) and help public safety teams prioritise real emergency calls ahead of non-emergency, prank or repeat calls. Advanced technology also enables traditional call- taking systems to support mobile app reporting, such as from a hostage during an armed siege, and sensor reporting such as eCall 112. With greater use of social media particularly among younger generations, Machine Learning will be important to detect emergencies reported through social networking rather than traditional channels.

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Response Once a threat/emergency is detected, the next crucial step is to respond and deploy the necessary resources. While AI can automatically dispatch the appropriate responders, it is critical for human supervisors to monitor these automated responses as routine situations can quickly escalate requiring further action. AI complements existing protocol systems supporting public safety team decisions on further causes of actions, such as dispatching specialised units, reporting to higher levels of government, and issuing public warnings. In the response phase, big data analytics can be used to conduct simulations, from crowd behaviour to evolving disaster threats, for more precise responses that save lives and properties. Robotics and drones will also have a major role in this phase especially if the situation is too dangerous for public safety officers, such as bomb/CBRN disposal and neutralising other high risk threats.

While the application of technology to Prevention, Detection, Response and Recovery is possible in the near future through the use of Huawei’s Collaborative Public Safety, C-C4ISR, solutions, we need to consider these important implications: • Connection and convergence of

systems, devices, robotics, and drones

• Big Data related technologies, and scenario-based data modeling to drive AI and Machine Learning

• Privacy and legal framework on the use of such t e c h n o l o g i e s , and real-time access to non-g o v e r n m e n t data, such as social networking

• Legal and ethical considerations if robots are allowed to use force on a human posing an eminent threat to others

With the rising influx of connected devices comes major security risks. Cyber attacks have been carried out on everything from water plants to oil refineries. How can these incidents be prevented/anticipated by smart cities?

This is a critical concern. In addition to thwarting sophisticated attacks on utilities, we also need measures to prevent adversaries remotely hacking and

controlling connected cars with potentially disastrous consequences. Greater connectivity also means increased vulnerability across entire systems and it has become more challenging to reduce the risk of attacks, particularly from insiders or through social engineering. Protecting our critical networks and businesses from

cyber-attacks in a well-connected environment cannot be an afterthought; we need layers

of security working seamlessly with each other. For example, Huawei

helps our customers to secure their devices/

IoT, networking (both wired and wireless), and cloud/data centre. Our Unified Security solution not only integrates and protects this entire system, but also provides early detection and warnings, even

against day zero attacks and insider

threats.

Security is transcending the physical realm and

moving towards the cyber domains. This means the impact

of security breaches is now felt globally. How can governments and the private sector collaborate to address these threats?

While many governments and companies have made improvements in cybersecurity over the last few years, they are not keeping pace with the growing sophistication of motivated cyber attackers. In fact we are now no longer dealing solely with traditional cybercrime, we also need to tackle cyber-enabled crime.

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INTERPOL distinguishes between these two areas as:

Cybercrime – Sophisticated attacks, or high-tech crimes, such as hacking, malware attacks, DDOS, and ransomware.

Cyber-enabled crime – traditional crimes which are facilitated by technology, such as theft, fraud, child exploitation, and even terrorism. The bad guys are constantly evolving and adapting their technologies and methods. Attacks may appear sporadic and not related but they may be part of a bigger illicit campaign. Therefore it is crucial for governments, private sector, non-profit, academia, and even individuals to collaborate to counter such threats.

It takes a network to fight a network. Such collaboration usually involves sharing real-time information, advanced analytics, coordinated responses, evidence collection, public education and R&D to enhance security technologies. This can help drive a robust legal framework and privacy policies, as well as build trust between various entities.

Typically there is a Cross-Agency Cyber Security Operations Centre at the heart of this collaboration, integrating agencies, technology, and information

systems. Huawei participates in international cyber security initiatives and standards work through our membership in key organisations.

Please share with us on how Huawei is assisting law enforcement as well as security companies in dealing with terrorist attacks, which seem to be a common occurrence in today’s world.

It is important to emphasise that Huawei develops technological solutions to enable all types of public safety agencies to ensure public safety against all threats, including organised crime, accidents, natural disasters, terrorism, etc. We do not design our solutions specifically to help law enforcement agencies deal with terrorist attacks.

Huawei’s solutions are designed not only to address the existing public safety landscape, they also meet the demands of an evolving digital environment. The bad guys are leveraging technologies such as social networking, mobile computing, cloud and even Big Data. For example, a terrorist cell today is not limited by geographical constraints; it adopts a platform to widen its ecosystem of likeminded terrorists across the world.

People with ill-intent can spread rumours and incite violence during mass protests through the use of mesh-networking, such as Firechat. We are even seeing Cyber-Attack-as-a-Service, such as those services offered by Lizard Squad. To stay ahead of criminals who are using digital for illegal activities, public safety agencies need to transform and embrace Collaborative Public Safety, which comprises: • Inter-agency collaboration • Communities collaboration • Digital platform to enable collaboration To enable

Collaborative Public Safety, Huawei designed its Collaborative C4ISR, or C-C4ISR solutions:

• Collaborative Command and Control • Collaborative Communication • Collaborative Cloud computing • Collaborative Intelligence • Collaborative Surveillance • Collaborative Reconnaissance

These solutions support collaboration across the core threat management phases of Prevention, Detection, Response and Recovery.

What edge does Huawei have over its competitors in terms of smart security solutions for smart cities?

Huawei’s Collaborative Public Safety, C-C4ISR, solutions is ahead in the market due to the following attributes:

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• Addresses existing and emerging public safety agency requirements;

• Enables public safety agencies to drive digital transformation;

• Supports the full public safety cycle including Prevention, Detection, Response and Recovery;

• Follows various industry ICT standards; • Integrates with public safety applications from

hundreds of leading providers worldwide; and it leverages Huawei’s 80,000 R&D engineers to include the latest innovative technologies, including cloud computing, big data, IoT, and broadband trunking.

What are some upcoming technologies that we can look forward to in terms of keeping the public safe? (E.g. emotion recognition etc.)

As mentioned earlier, robotics, AI and Machine Learning, are all important emerging technologies for public safety. Non-textual analytics, such as video, audio, and sensory, are also important. In addition to emotion/sentiment recognition, advanced research is taking place in gait and scene analytics. Huawei has recently opened a Video Cloud Certification and Verification Centre to test and certify various video analytics from different partners through several types of cameras, camera positions, lighting and background. R&D efforts include chipsets for in-camera analytics, image enhancement, and secure and smart IoT platforms. AR and VR will also transform public safety in the future.

Imagine a police officer in a police car patrolling a neighbourhood. The cameras on board will pick up images of buildings, vehicles and people. With recognition analysis, the relevant information can be augmented (through AR) on the police car windscreen providing the officer with a safe and prompt way to make informed decisions. With VR, a commander doesn’t need to rush to the command center or incident site in the middle of the night. Instead he can wear his VR goggles and be immediately immersed in the virtual command center, with real-time mapping information, video surveillance and big data, enabling interaction with his staff in the center. Huawei is also investing in big data analytics, including the development of embedded algorithms. To mitigate silos across agencies and support hundreds of public safety applications, Huawei is developing a standards-based platform to facilitate information

exchange, and the agile deployment of applications.

While these are tangible and exciting upcoming technologies, the backend infrastructure technologies are often neglected but just as critical to ensure fast and reliable connectivity, especially with increasing data volumes. Technology such as Huawei SmartTrans solution addresses public safety infrastructure demands by allowing video content to be transmitted 7x faster than conventional FTP. In addition, Huawei continues to invest in R&D to help public sector agencies drive processing power in their data centers as well as essential power supply including UPS and batteries.

Increased surveillance and connected solutions are somewhat intrusive and invade

the privacy of individuals. Governments and other

agencies have access to an individual’s private data

from a simple scan. Is our privacy a necessary sacrifice, in your opinion and can a compromise be reached?

Any privacy infringement is counterintuitive to Collaborative Public Safety,

where trust between the communities and public

safety is paramount. Police and the government have to protect

the privacy of their constituents. Laws, policies, governance, compliance

and audit trails have to be in place allowing constituents to maintain their privacy so that law-

abiding citizens don’t feel afraid. However, to counter threats, especially cyber-enabled threats, proper judicial processes need to be in place for police/intelligence agencies to access some of these privacy-protected data sources. Strict governance and audit trails are needed to prevent and detect abuses. There is also a need for separation of duties, such as between a data custodian and a law enforcement agency. It is important to realise that privacy cannot be upheld without security. All the laws and policies point to the need for information and cyber security, including infrastructure security, identity management, cloud security and mobile security. As mentioned earlier, Huawei offers a comprehensive suite of such security technologies that address these areas.

The discussion on balance between privacy and security should continue indefinitely; it is a way of check and balance on all parties concerned. If privacy rules, the bad guys will gain an upper hand. If security rules, the increased level of mistrust and even abuses are counterintuitive to the fight against the bad guys. sst

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