Digital Transformation for Secure and Sustainable Systems: Advances in Privacy, Authentication, Intelligent Construction, and Connected Mobility

Abstract

Digital transformation is increasingly reshaping infrastructure systems by integrating connected technologies, intelligent decision-making, automated processes, and sustainable resource management. However, the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure has also introduced challenges related to cybersecurity, privacy, interoperability, scalability, environmental impact, and operational resilience. This study presents a systematic review of digital technologies for sustainable and secure infrastructure, with particular emphasis on connected vehicles, privacy-preserving technologies, and intelligent construction. The review examines two complementary domains: secure connected transportation and digitally enabled sustainable construction. In the transportation domain, attention is given to authentication, privacy protection, pseudonym management, Sybil resistance, accountability, zero-trust architectures, decentralized trust, and infrastructure-assisted security. In the construction domain, the review considers digital inspection, three-dimensional concrete printing, sustainable construction materials, and digitally supported supply-chain resilience. The analysis identifies common challenges across both domains, including the need for trustworthy data exchange, interoperability, scalable architectures, efficient resource utilization, and balanced protection of privacy and accountability. The findings indicate that digitalization should not be evaluated solely in terms of technological performance but through an integrated framework incorporating security, sustainability, resilience, economic feasibility, and lifecycle performance. The study further identifies opportunities for integrating artificial intelligence, edge computing, digital twins, privacy-preserving analytics, and energy-efficient cybersecurity into future infrastructure systems. The review provides a conceptual foundation for developing infrastructure that is not only intelligent and connected but also secure, sustainable, adaptive, and resilient.   Keywords: Digital transformation; Sustainable infrastructure; Secure infrastructure; Connected vehicles; VANETs; Privacy preservation; Cybersecurity; Intelligent construction; Digital inspection; 3D-printed concrete; Supply-chain resilience; Zero-trust security; Blockchain; Artificial intelligence; Digital twins.