Smart electricity meters vulnerable to hacking and raise privacy concerns
US magazine HSNW reports the rush to deployment of smart meters ignores serious security vulnerabilities: the interactivity which makes smart meters so attractive also makes them vulnerable to hackers, because each meter essentially is a computer connected to a vast network
In the United States alone, more than eight million smart meters have been deployed by electric utilities and nearly sixty million should be in place by 2020; security experts are worried that this rush to deployment of smart meters ignores serious security vulnerabilities: the interactivity which makes smart meters so attractive also makes them vulnerable to hackers, because each meter essentially is a computer connected to a vast network.
Security researchers say that new "smart" meters, which are part of the envisioned Smart Grid and which are designed to help deliver electricity more efficiently, also have flaws that could let hackers tamper with the power grid in previously impossible ways.
homelandsecuritynewswire.com/experts-say-smart-meters-are-vulnerable-hacking
Smart metering will also bring with it an avalanche of data. Privacy and security must be an integral part of the rollout, say Utility Week's Ian Stevens and Adam Gillert.
Increased data flows are at the heart of every smart metering programme. Data transferred from smart meters may include meter readings, consumption data and even payment details for pre payment meter customers. Recording, processing and transmitting significant quantities of data is something the energy industry does routinely and, following the introduction of market competition, to a greater degree today than ever before.
However, the introduction of smart metering will not only change the nature of the data generated, but will dramatically increase its volume, utility and commercial value. The challenge for suppliers and network operators is to demonstrate to consumers and regulators that they can and will process that data securely and lawfully.
www.utilityweek.co.uk/features/uk/data-security-must-be-safeguar.php
