New Smart Meters - good idea gone wrong ?

kippen_noedel

New smart meters are vulnerable to abuse by hackers.

They can be reset remotely in the same way a worm can take over your computer.

If your utility company wants to install one ask if the data being transmitted is encrypted and does it have a built in authentication protocol.

The worst case scenario is that you can be disconnected and it's not that easy for your supplier to reconnect you.

Meters at risk are manufactured by the following companies

GE Energy, The ABB Group, Sensus Metering, Itron and Landis+Gyr

Vestra

kippen_noedel wrote: »

New smart meters are vulnerable to abuse by hackers.

They can be reset remotely in the same way a worm can take over your computer.

If your utility company wants to install one ask if the data being transmitted is encrypted and does it have a built in authentication protocol.

The worst case scenario is that you can be disconnected and it's not that easy for your supplier to reconnect you.

Meters at risk are manufactured by the following companies

GE Energy, The ABB Group, Sensus Metering, Itron and Landis+Gyr

Please post your source.

Decado23

Vestra wrote: »

Please post your source.

There's some info about this here - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/12/smart_grid_security_risks/

Premier_2

Decado23 wrote: »

There's some info about this here - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/12/smart_grid_security_risks/

That relates to US supplies.

I don't know what sytem they use in the US.

First Utility are the only UK company currently offering smart meters to all their customers, and as I understand it, theirs is essentially a standard meter that has the add on function of sending a reading back to the supplier at specified frequencies.

I'm not sure how that can be prone to a remote attack as it only sends out messages - it doesn't receive one as far as I undertand.

1carminestocky

Everything sent electronically has greater chance of being 'intercepted' IMO.

jimexbox

Premier wrote: »

I'm not sure how that can be prone to a remote attack as it only sends out messages - it doesn't receive one as far as I undertand.

I would imagine that smart meter will be capable of receiving OS updates to increase functionality as well as patch bugs that may arise. I cannot see companies installing millions of these smart meters only to discover a software flaw and no way to update it, apart from physically 'flashing' every smart meter themselves.

spiro

The meter they are specking for the UK will include security built in for transmission/access/etc especially as they will hold financial data when in PAYG and Debt Recovery mode.

kippen_noedel

spiro wrote: »

The meter they are specking for the UK will include security built in for transmission/access/etc especially as they will hold financial data when in PAYG and Debt Recovery mode.

That's the theory, in practice the software being used is the pretty much the same from country to country. About as secure as using wep for your home wireless network. A minor inconvenience to any hacker.

eg most of the ones used by First Utility are made in Russia by Iskra and can communicate in various ways.

the hacking process is a bit like 2 people having a conversation via a man in the middle without any verification at either end that the man in the middle is actually passing on the correct information to either party.

Without implementation of good encryption and a strong authentication protocol, it's an accident waiting to happen

Vestra

I don't get it, what can they hack? They can take your meter readings, what they going to do, build a picture of your usage?

kippen_noedel

Vestra wrote: »

I don't get it, what can they hack? They can take your meter readings, what they going to do, build a picture of your usage?

lol, :think:

just a minor inconvenience if 1000s of people supplies are disrupted, worst case for customers

bigger concern for companies is a ddos blackmail scenario.

there is plenty of time for manufacturers to address the issue but until they do I'd avoid taking one.

darude

From what I heard, data travels through a mobile network e.g. Vodafone. So in theory, if your mobile phone doesn't get hacked (we're not talking about Bluetooth), then your smart meter shouldn't get hacked.