The next generation of electricity power systems will see the widespread use of “smart grids”, actively managing the flow of power between energy providers and consumers. They will use millions of smart meters to monitor and report the pattern of power supply and usage. In a world likely to be ever-more reliant on renewable energy, Continue reading →
hackers
Here’s a frightening scenario – thousands of teenage hackers sitting in their rooms after school trying to break into utility databases or spread a virus – all through the Home Area Network (HAN)! Could it happen? Recent events are certain to make the power industry sit up and blink. via Cyber-warfare: Smart Grid Offers a Continue reading →
The prevalence of unstructured data traversing the smart grid presents a “huge threat” to the security of those networks, a security conference heard today. Responding to questions at the Ecrime Symposium in Sydney, Raytheon solutions architect Martin Tucek said data in transit on next-generation utitlities’ networks was a fertile, as yet largely untapped seam of Continue reading →
President Barack Obama’s talk about the need for a “smart grid” sounds, well, smart. What’s not to like about the idea of an electricity grid that can work at top efficiency? By wrapping power transmission lines in advanced information technologies and the Internet, a smart grid would enable us to integrate alternative energy sources such Continue reading →
A security company has found holes in two-way meters that could allow a person with a laptop to tap into the communications between people's homes and utility companies. Security consulting company InGuardians was hired by three utilities to test the vulnerability of smart meters from five manufacturers and the systems used to manage them, according Continue reading →
The new smart meters designed to help deliver electricity more efficiently are inviting – and vulnerable – targets for hackers, security analysts say. The Associated Press (News – Alert) reports that hackers can access the power grid “in previously impossible ways” from hacking the meters. Last July, at the annual Black Hat security conference, IOActive’s (News – Continue reading →
The country’s swift deployment of smart-grid technology has security professionals concerned that utilities and smart-meter vendors are repeating the mistakes made in the rollout of the public internet, when security became a priority only after malicious attacks had reached mass levels. But when it comes to the power grid, the costs of remote hack attacks Continue reading →
As cyber security becomes increasingly important in the fabric of American culture and government, more money and research is being put towards securing the smart grid. This so-called smart grid refers to the system that delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital technology. This is modernized electrical system being used to address problems Continue reading →
There is a growing anxiety that smart meter deployment being stimulated by Federal stimulus money and pressure to move faster from state utility regulators will swamp the data boat of many, if not most, utilities. As I started digging into this issue I quickly discovered I was not the only one, nor the first, to Continue reading →
You know a topic has suddenly gone mainstream when 60 Minutes directs its in-depth lens on it. Last night the CBS News show aired a piece called Sabotaging the System, which takes a look at the very real threat that cyber hackers pose on the power grid. What struck me most from the show was Continue reading →
Experts say the compulsory monitors, designed to reduce energy consumption, could be programmed to cripple the national grid or to steal valuable household data, breaching the privacy of millions. The government wants every home in Britain to have the devices, which give users information on how to save energy and send real-time data direct to Continue reading →
Amid fears of cyberwarfare and hacker attack, the government is moving forward on improving the U.S. power grid. “At stake is America’s energy future and the economic competitiveness of our nation,” declared U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. Locke made the remarks during his presentation of the first set of proposed standards for coordinating Continue reading →
The Smart Grid allows two-way communication between you and the power grid. You can feed power back to the Grid, the Grid can tell you how much power you’re using throughout the day, and — if you want — it can control your appliances for you. And that’s just way too tempting for hackers, thieves Continue reading →
As with all wirelessly-connected electronic devices, smart meters–and in turn, the smart grid–are vulnerable to hackers. And if the smart grid is hacked, well, there goes the neighborhood’s (or the city’s) power. CNN recently demonstrated how a hacker equipped with $500 worth of equipment could take control of the grid, and now Mike Davis, a Continue reading →
The illegal access of 179,000 Toronto Hydro e-billing accounts last week may be written off by some as just another privacy breach in an increasingly interconnected world, but it also raises a red flag in the rush toward the “smart grid.” Customer information taken in this case included names, addresses, customer account numbers and some Continue reading →
