Smart Cities and Regional Development (SCRD) Open Access Publishing
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Enhanced Web Application Security through Advanced Penetration Testing Techniques
The Internet is an extraordinarily dynamic environment, brimming with a diverse array of applications that provide various services and experiences to its users. However, this diversity also brings about a darker side: web applications are frequently subject to cyber-attacks, facing unprecedented levels of risk each year and causing significant damage to the global internet community. In this context, improving the security of these web applications on a global scale is crucial. Despite efforts to address this challenge, annual reports indicate that many websites still harbor critical security vulnerabilities. The OWASP Top 10 list has identified and documented these critical vulnerabilities, which persistently trend year after year in web applications [1]. The primary aim of this paper is to enhance the security of web applications by addressing and mitigating potential threats through penetration testing. To achieve this goal, a theoretical model has been developed to better identify and understand possible vulnerabilities in application security. Through a practical approach, penetration tests have been utilized to examine a web application for potential critical vulnerabilities. The research focuses on identifying vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers and proposing solutions for the specific problems identified. The methods employed include manual testing and the use of software such as Burp Suite to test and analyze known threats such as SQL injections. In-depth analysis of these vulnerabilities reveals that even a minor security flaw can cause significant damage to a website in the real-world internet environment. Through this process, the aim is to highlight potential vulnerabilities and provide an ongoing strategy for cyber protection, thereby improving the security and resilience of web applications against potential attacks
The impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market over the next 10 years
Artificial intelligence (AI) is about to radically redefine the labor market, and over the next 10 years, the changes will be profound and irreversible. This article explores how AI will influence the workforce, analyzing both the jobs that will disappear due to automation and the new professions that will emerge as a result of this technological revolution. While traditional sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, and services will be most affected by automation, new areas of activity will flourish, focusing on the development and maintenance of emerging technologies, digital ethics, and complex data analysis. Emphasis will also be placed on the forced retraining of employees to meet new market demands, as well as on the importance of continuing education to ensure the smoothest possible integration of new technologies into organizations and society. The ethical and social challenges of this transition will also be addressed, in particular the risks related to algorithmic discrimination, unequal access to new opportunities, and the economic impact on the most vulnerable segments of the population. The article concludes with a discussion of the need for effective public policy to regulate the use of AI while protecting workers\u27 rights and ensuring a sustainable future for all citizens. As AI continues to shape the global economy, it will be essential for both employers and employees to actively prepare for these changes and work together to navigate the challenges and opportunities brought about by new technologies.ObjectivesTo analyze how AI will transform industries and jobs over the next decade, identifying professions that will disappear and those that will emerge as a result of automation and emerging technologies. To define a framework for action for employers and employees to actively adapt to technological change, ensuring that the transition to AI is effective and does not negatively affect social and economic stability. Thus, addressing concerns about algorithmic discrimination, social inequalities created by automation, and the impact of technologies on the most vulnerable segments of the population.ResultsThe expected outcomes of the article are a complex and nuanced understanding of the profound transformations that AI will bring to the labor market over the next 10 years, highlighting both the disappearance of certain professions and the emergence of new professional fields; a clear awareness of the need for continuous retraining and adaptation of skills to new technologies; a reflection on the ethical, social, and economic challenges generated by process automation and the risks of deepening inequalities; o encouragement of the development of innovative public policies that protect workers\u27 rights and support a fair transition to a digital economy; and, last but not least, the creation of a framework for action for employers and employees that supports the harmonious and sustainable integration of artificial intelligence into existing economic and social structures. Artificial intelligence in Romania has significant transformative potential for the economy and the labor market, with remarkable progress in the private sector, where start-ups and multinational companies are developing innovative solutions, and in education, where more and more programs dedicated to training specialists are emerging. but the challenges remain considerable, including insufficiently developed digital infrastructure in rural areas, the need for massive retraining of the workforce to meet the demands of an automated economy, the lack of a clear legislative framework to regulate the ethical use of AI and the protection of personal data, as well as the risks of deepening social and economic inequalities. The success of a sustainable and equitable transition to a digital era depends on effective collaboration between government, educational institutions, and the private sector to build an ecosystem that supports innovation while protecting citizens\u27 rights and ensuring equitable access to new technologies.ValueThe value of the article lies in its ability to provide a comprehensive and well-documented overview of the impact of artificial intelligence on the Romanian labor market, identifying both the challenges and opportunities created by these emerging technologies. The article helps readers understand not only the immediate effects of AI on industries and the workforce, but also the long-term social, economic, and ethical implications, providing relevant analysis for decision-makers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and politicians. Furthermore, by proposing solutions for retraining and protecting workers, creating appropriate public policies, and integrating AI fairly, the article serves as a guide for managing the transition to a sustainable digital economy. In addition, it contributes to the necessary debate around ethics in technology and personal data protection regulations, strengthening public understanding of the importance of responsible AI development in Romania
AI-based Monitoring of Urban Public Transport Safety Using Computer Vision
Urban public transport systems are essential for city mobility but face persistent safety challenges—vandalism, overcrowding, slip-and-fall incidents, theft, and near-miss collisions at stops. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for real-time monitoring of urban public transport safety using computer vision and deep learning. The proposed system integrates multi-camera feeds, edge-compute modules, and a lightweight deep neural pipeline for event detection (falls, fights, crowding, unattended objects), anomaly scoring, and operator alerting. We evaluate the approach on a mixed dataset collected from bus interiors, tram platforms, and bus stops, achieving an average precision of 0.88 for event detection and a mean time-to-alert under 2.2 seconds on edge hardware. We also discuss privacy-preserving strategies, deployment considerations, and a roadmap for integrating the approach with existing transport management centers
Identification of factors influencing indoor electricity Consumption in Surabaya and energy saving strategies in tropical climate
Growing urban centers and rising living standards in tropical regions like Surabaya are driving significant increases in building energy consumption. This trend poses considerable challenges to energy infrastructure sustainability and contributes to environmental concerns, particularly given the inherent climatic demands for cooling and dehumidification. Addressing this effectively necessitates a clear understanding of the primary drivers influencing energy use patterns. Therefore, this study comprehensively identifies the diverse factors impacting indoor electrical energy consumption within this context. Furthermore, it aims to formulate practical and effective energy conservation strategies specifically tailored to mitigate consumption while leveraging the unique characteristics and constraints presented by the tropical climate. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research integrated foundational knowledge from a thorough literature review with primary data collected via questionnaires distributed to 70 residents in Surabaya, capturing specific local conditions, behaviors, and perceptions related to energy use. The findings reveal that electricity consumption is shaped by a complex interplay across six main categories: occupant characteristics and behaviors, prevailing socioeconomic conditions, inherent building design and material features, the effectiveness of natural ventilation and lighting systems, the types and efficiency of electronic devices used, and the reliance on active air conditioning systems. Based on these insights, relevant and context-specific energy conservation strategies were identified. Key approaches include optimizing building design for effective cross-ventilation, maximizing the utilization of abundant natural daylight, systematically implementing passive tropical architectural design principles, and encouraging the adoption of certified energy-efficient appliances. Ultimately, this study strongly recommends a holistic approach, integrating both technical solutions and non-technical measures like promoting behavioral changes, to achieve meaningful and sustainable energy efficiency improvements in buildings within tropical regions
What are the driving factors of innovation in Smart City? – A systematic review of journal publications from 2014 to 2024
Smart cities have continuously reinvented themselves, striving for increasingly intelligent goals since their inception. However, current research still falls short of providing a clear understanding of smart cities innovation. In response to this shortfall, this paper offers a systematic review y of the ten years` studies on smart cities innovation. Each article focuses on two aspects: 1) What are the driving forces behind smart city innovation? 2) How do these forces influence smart city innovation? The findings disclose that government, society, environmental awareness, and technology driving innovation in smart cities. Specifically, the government promotes innovation in smart city devices and technologies through policies and governance, society through human capital and social capital, environmental awareness through health and safety needs, and technology through user and enterprise technologies. Overall, this analysis offers a comprehensive and systematic view of how a smart city innovation can be understood theoretically, which will offer a positive impact on developing a sustainable smart city
Importanța și implementarea inteligenței artificiale în orașele de tip smart city
nevoie, traficul curge fără oprire, iar serviciile publice ne înțeleg nevoile înainte să le exprimăm? Inteligența artificială (AI) promite să transforme acest vis în realitate, iar lucrarea de față explorează exact cum putem integra aceste tehnologii în orașele de tip smart city.De la optimizarea transportului public la gestionarea eficientă a energiei și sprijinirea deciziilor guvernamentale, AI redefinește viața urbană. Studiul analizează exemple concrete, atât din România, cât și din alte țări, pentru a arăta cum orașele pot deveni mai conectate, mai sustenabile și mai prietenoase cu cetățenii. În plus, lucrarea identifică provocările din calea acestei revoluții – de la bariere tehnologice la lipsa unor politici publice adecvate – și propune soluții practice. Această cercetare nu doar că dezvăluie potențialul uriaș al AI în orașele inteligente, ci oferă și un ghid clar pentru a transforma ideile în acțiuni. Această lucrare explorează impactul și potențialul inteligenței artificiale (AI) în dezvoltarea orașelor inteligente, cu scopul de a identifica modalități prin care AI poate îmbunătăți infrastructura, serviciile publice și calitatea vieții cetățenilor. Tema este importantă în contextul urbanizării accelerate și al necesității unor soluții sustenabile pentru gestionarea resurselor urbane. Metodologia se axează pe studiul de caz, analizând implementări concrete ale AI în orașe inteligente din România și din alte state. Analiza combină surse primare, precum rapoarte și date statistice, cu studii secundare din literatura de specialitate. Integrarea AI în orașele inteligente poate optimiza operațiunile urbane, reduce costurile și îmbunătăți serviciile publice. Totuși, există provocări precum infrastructura tehnologică insuficientă și barierele legislative. Dacă ești interesat de viitorul orașelor și de modul în care tehnologia poate schimba în bine viața noastră de zi cu zi, această lucrare îți va oferi o perspectivă captivantă și inspirațională
AUTOMATIZAREA PROCESELOR ADMINISTRATIVE PRIN INTELIGENȚA ARTIFICIALĂ LA PRIMĂRIA SECTOR 3
Lucrarea de față își propune să investigheze oportunitățile și provocările asociate cu automatizarea proceselor administrative prin integrarea soluțiilor bazate pe inteligență artificială (IA), având ca studiu de caz Primăria Sectorului 3 din București. Într-un context marcat de digitalizare accelerată și cerințe tot mai ridicate din partea cetățenilor pentru servicii publice eficiente și transparente, administrațiile locale sunt nevoite să adopte soluții tehnologice inovatoare pentru a răspunde acestor așteptări. Astfel, cercetarea urmărește să evidențieze modul în care tehnologiile emergente, în special cele bazate pe IA, pot contribui la optimizarea activităților birocratice, prin reducerea timpului de procesare, a erorilor umane și a costurilor operaționale.
Conform literaturii de specialitate, „în contextul administrației publice, digitalizarea apare ca o forță transformatoare și oferă o gamă largă de beneficii atât angajaților, cât și cetățenilor” [1]. Acest enunț servește ca punct de plecare pentru o analiză aplicată a modului în care soluțiile de IA pot fi adaptate și implementate în administrația publică locală, nu doar ca un instrument tehnologic, ci ca un catalizator pentru transformarea profundă a modului de lucru instituțional.
În cadrul lucrării sunt analizate fluxurile de lucru actuale, sunt identificate principalele puncte vulnerabile și sunt propuse soluții automatizate adaptate nevoilor specifice ale instituției.
Metodologia cercetării a inclus o analiză documentară riguroasă a surselor de specialitate, a strategiilor naționale și europene privind IA în administrația publică, precum și simulări conceptuale ale procesului de integrare tehnologică, având la bază bune practici din alte administrații europene. Această abordare a permis evaluarea fezabilității și a impactului potențial al implementării soluțiilor propuse în contextul administrației românești.
Rezultatele obținute sugerează că adoptarea acestor tehnologii poate aduce îmbunătățiri semnificative în eficiența și transparența administrației locale, cu impact pozitiv asupra relației cu cetățenii. Lucrarea se încheie cu o serie de recomandări privind implementarea graduală și responsabilă a soluțiilor IA propuse
Cui i-e frică de Inteligența Artificială (AI)? Este pusă în pericol securitatea judiciară a României prin intermediul instrumentelor AI?
„Cum pot fi conectați oamenii cu tehnologia astfel încât, în mod colectiv, acţiunile acestor entități de lucru să fie mai inteligente decât ale oricărei persoane, grup de persoane, computer sau rețele de computer întreprinse vreodată? Răspunsul poate veni prin intermediul a două abordări: „prima implică crearea de noi modalități de interconectare între indivizi, evident facilitate de tehnologie, pentru a potența inteligența colectivă, a doua are în vedere conectarea indivizilor cu sisteme dotate cu inteligență artificială, pentru a genera un nivel superior de inteligența colectivă.” Inteligența artificială este componentă a digitalizării fiind astfel profund interconectată cu aceasta și având menirea de a amplifica și facilita progresul în domeniu. Împreună, acestea sunt forțe motrice ale inovației și transformării în societatea modernă. Însă pentru protecția securității judiciare a României, precum șipentru promovarea și respectarea drepturilor omului în era digitală, a venit timpul ca securitatea cibernetică să fie tratată ca o problemă a drepturilor omului. Și asta pentru că securitatea cibernetică este inexorabil legată de securitatea indivizilor, fapt care reprezintă unul dintre fundamentele drepturilor omului. Securitatea cibernetică și drepturile omului sunt complementare, interdependente și se consolidează reciproc
Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Security
Without substantial automation, individuals cannot manage the complexity of operations and the scale of information to be utilized to secure cyberspace. Nonetheless, technology and software with traditional fixed implementations are difficult to build (hardwired decision-making logic) in order to successfully safeguard against security threats. This condition can be dealt with using machine simplicity and learning methods in AI. This paper provides a concise overview of AI implementations of various cybersecurity using artificial technologies and evaluates the prospects for expanding the cybersecurity capabilities by enhancing the defence mechanism. We may infer that valuable applications already exist after the review of current artificial intelligence software on cybersecurity. First of all, they are used to protect the periphery and many other cybersecurity areas with neural networks. On the other hand, it was clear that certain cybersecurity problems would only be overcome efficiently if artificial intelligence approaches are deployed. In strategic decision making, for example, comprehensive information is important, and logical decision assistance is one of the still unanswered cybersecurity issue
THE TRANSITION TO A PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A FUTURE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
This paper addresses the urgent need for constitutional reform in Romania, with a specific emphasis on the potential transition from a semi-presidential to a fully presidential system. The study provides a critical examination of the 2003 constitutional revision and its limited success in resolving systemic ambiguities. Despite its goal to prepare Romania for EU and NATO integration, the 2003 reform failed to eliminate legal inconsistencies and institutional conflicts, particularly regarding the balance of power between the President and the Prime Minister. Drawing from post-2003 political and constitutional developments, this research analyzes structural dysfunctions such as executive-legislative deadlocks, overlapping roles, and interpretative disputes that continue to hinder political stability. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative approach, incorporating case analysis of constitutional crises, legislative proposals, and decisions of the Constitutional Court. The results indicate that the current hybrid model has led to repeated institutional blockages and public dissatisfaction, fueled by power struggles and legal uncertainties. The paper suggests that a presidential system—based on examples such as the United States—could ensure clearer executive authority, enhance government accountability, and reduce the risk of cohabitation conflicts. The implications of such a transition are relevant for policymakers, legal scholars, and public administration specialists, especially in the context of Romania’s ongoing democratic consolidation. The study brings value by providing a systematic legal and political analysis of the Romanian constitutional framework, highlighting the necessity of a well-designed constitutional overhaul. This research contributes to the broader debate on modern governance, offering a forward-looking perspective rooted in institutional clarity, separation of powers, and democratic resilience