Smart meters, dumb security
BY JACK BODE, COMOX VALLEY ECHO APRIL 13, 2012
Had a discussion the other day with some friends about the Itron smart meters BC Hydro is installing on all electrical users in BC. One chap mentioned hacking and this piqued my interest. I went on the internet to see what the people had to say about the so-called smart grid and the smart meters. I dumped the search words hack, grid and smart meter into Google and boy did the information come pouring out. It makes a fellow wonder.
The FBI in the US is seeing increasing hacks on electrical smart meters to get power without paying. Some smart meters have software that can be modified with a DIY optical interface to modify the software and others can be slowed down by putting a magnet on top during the night.
Krebs on security reported that a report issued by the FBI after it investigated incidents of power theft in Puerto Rico assessed as worth as much as $US400M annually.
Last spring a security consultant by the name of Mike Davis hacked into a smart meter as a proof-of-concept they showed at a Las Vegas security convention. They did this by reverse engineering meters they bought on Ebay and found in the trash at installation sites. They then installed a computer program that would replicate itself across the wireless network and block the utility from each meter as it went.
I sure will sleep tight knowing that Ebay won't be listing smart meters any more.
By the end of 2015 the potential security risks to the smart grid will reach 440 million new hackable points. Billions are being spent on grid cybersecurity, but it seems like every time you turn around another vulnerability is exposed on how to manipulate the smart-meter or power grid data.
If we ever go to war again we won't have to worry about getting bombed they will just hack us and turn off the power.
Now for the political side of this equation on how we got where we are with this meter thing.
Dear leader Gordon Campbell let BC Hydro push the smart meters through without giving us unwashed voters any chance of letting us voice our opinions to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).
I always believed that I as a citizen was entitled to approach the PUC with my opinion on any change as massive as the smart meter/ smart grid implementation. I guess I was wrong.
And for you Liberal caucus members who are still around did the cat get your tongue or did Gordo hold you to silence.
Things really don't seem to be getting any better for the Liberal Party of BC and as a member I am at the end of my rope. Our new Premier is sliding fast in the polls and I can see no hope of recovery before the next election.
Unless there is some type of enquiry or further information on the Basi/Virk/ BC Rail fiasco I am done with the Liberal Party. For God's sake, they pleaded guilty and we paid the tab.
Jack Bode Comox
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