Smart meters, uh oh!

JohnB47

House_Martin wrote: »

No reports of hacking in the 9 years so why are people making stupid posts about something which is not likely to happen.

That is a very curious argument. I'll bet that TalkTalk had the same thought just before they were hacked.

Having said that, the article mentioned is a bit OTT.

Micron

"I have been reading British Gas smart meters for 9 years."
Smart meters can’t really that smart if you still have to go and read them.

"They have fitted over a million smart meters"
Most of which will have to be replaced if the consumer changes their energy supplier?

"so why are people making stupid posts about something which is not likely to happen"
"Not likely to happen", so even you aren’t sure that it defiantly won't happen.

"No reports of hacking in the 9 years, It has not happened so far"
Exacly, it has not happen so far.

"worry about the PC, phone, tablet you made this stupid post with instead."
Why do you keep labelling people as stupid just because they disagree with your views ?

"I suppose many thousands of PC s have been hacked"
Who would have ever thought years ago that anyone would want to or even be able to hack in to peoples PC,s

"so don t waste your time being frightened over something which will not happen"
Never say never, (Charles Dickens) There was one smart man.

Rubidium

House_Martin wrote: »

Oh for gods sake! can we stop this laughable rubbish.We can do without the silly hacking of smart meter posts please, they re not interesting even if some geek thinks it is.

House_Martin wrote: »

I have been reading British Gas smart meters for 9 years. They have fitted over a million smart meters and there are over 2.5 million British Gas smart meter users which remain unhacked. No reports of hacking in the 9 years so why are people making stupid posts about something which is not likely to happen.It has not happened so far but I suppose many thousands of PC s have been hacked so don t waste your time being frightened over something which will not happen and worry about the PC, phone, tablet you made this stupid post with instead.No more smart meter hacking paranoia please.

You may believe that this is "laughable rubbish".

You may believe that this is a "stupid post".

You may believe that this is "hacking paranoia".

However these are simply your very biased opinions based on ignorance!

Many people have expressed concerns about the security of smart metering and I'm sure that most readers would rather read factual information about this rather than the opinion of an obsessed poster who believes that smart meters are the best thing since sliced bread.

Fortunately GCHQ and DECC agreed that smart metering is insecure and as this could affect national security, they have insisted that a completely new encryption system will be implemented before the mass roll-out.

This new encryption architecture is included in the SMETS2 specification, therefore the millions of meters currently installed that you have mentioned will remain insecure until they have eventually been upgraded/replaced to SMETS2 specification and adopted by the DCC.

The full SMETS2 specification is available for you to read online and you can start will the basics about the new encryption implementation here.

I suggest that before applying for Mastermind with your chosen specialised subject of "Smart metering in the UK between 2007 and 2017" that familiarise yourself with the current situation!

The lack of solid end to end security is yet another reason why savvy MSE'ers should simply say NO for a couple of years until all problems have been successfully resolved. e.g. supplier interoperability, security, available for all tariffs etc. etc.There are plenty of mugs who will accept anything offered without question to satisfy each of the suppliers agreed quotas to install 1500.

I thank Martinthebandit for starting this thread, perhaps it should be made a Sticky so that the regularly asked question "My supplier has offered me a smart meter, should I accept?" can be referred to this thread so that they can decide based on real world facts rather than fantasy?

GingerBob_3

martinthebandit wrote: »

Interesting article here http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/04/smart_metres_ccc/

Highlighting the main reason why you should wait a good few years before getting one.

Or never get one - a better proposition.

martinthebandit

JohnB47 wrote: »

Having said that, the article mentioned is a bit OTT.

Fair point, although the concerning thing is that it's only 'a bit' over the top.

System

In the link provided by Rudidium above, those responsible for smart meter security make it clear that they do expect the system to be hacked with emphasis being placed on minimising the effect.

During the design of the system, GCHQ and DECC assumed that vulnerabilities would be found in the various components during the life of the system. This is a reasonable assumption because not everyone who is building things for the Smart Metering System are cyber security experts, and building a system devoid of any vulnerabilities is very hard to do (to the point of probably being impossible).

In addition, setting the security bar very high for each component would make the system unaffordable, so we've gone for commercial good practice.

martinthebandit

Hengus wrote: »

...... so we've gone for commercial good practice.[/B]

Actually commercial good practice is 'let the market decide'

It is most definitely not commercial good practice to have them enforced by legislation and make everyone, including those who don't want them, pay for them

d70cw6

When they hack your smart meters they'll be able to give you electric shocks whilst you sleep!
WHILST YOU SLEEP!

I feel sorry for people with pacemakers.

System

You are plain bonkers coming out with utter tosh like that.Keep your paranoia to yourself and do not try to import it to others.There are plenty of gullable people on this forum who may well believe your fairy tale

r2015

If smart meters are so easy to hack how can I get the output from them to appear on my computer like I used to do with my Eon monitor?