October 5, 2009

Smart Meters though greener are susceptible to hacker attacks

by mohsin

Seems recession has hit the energy industry as well, every industry is trying their level best to dig out a few more pennies from your hard earned cash. The weapon of choice is the all new smart electricity and gas readers, which will be fitted like normal meters in all homes by 2020 as part of efforts to cut household emissions. Smart meters use mobile phone technology to tell electricity companies how much power is being used so it is no longer necessary to take meter readings. Research showed that households could save up to £130 per annum on their fuel bill because people are more aware of how much electricity they are using. These devices are now proving to be vulnerable to cyber attacks, once hacked, the devices could infect Britain’s entire grid or cause individual customers to be cut off.

The government has been warned it must tighten the security of the devices to protect households and small businesses before proceeding with the scheme, which is being trialed in 17,500 homes in the UK.
Via
[telegraph]