Microcontroller firmware, memory components, and the interactions between those components all contain information necessary for communicating to and from the meter. Smart meters are complicated devices that contain several different components where authentication information can potentially be extracted. In either case, successful interaction with a Smart Meter will first require authentication credentials.
#Bytesecurity antivirus aopp software#
To successfully interact with a Smart Meter's optical port, attackers and security researchers must gain access to the maintenance software provided by the meter's vendor or develop specialized software. extreme heat/cold, high winds, torrential rains). Optical ports provide an easy, tested, and safe method for field technicians to interact with these electrified components during a wide variety of field conditions (i.e. This capability is necessary numerous reasons, all of which relate to the need for a utility to achieve its primary goal: reliability.
1 Conduct an Internet Search for "smart meter deployment 2012" OptiGuard: A Smart Meter Assessment Toolkit 3Ĥ 2.0 RISK PRESENTED BY THE OPTICAL PORT The purpose of the optical port on a Smart Meter is to provide a utility s field technicians with a method to directly manage individual meters. Thus, the race to secure Smart Meters from unauthorized manipulation of the hardware and communications has begun. As the capabilities and access to additional resources and data increased, so has the risk that amateur hardware enthusiasts and criminals will become interested in these devices. Outfitting Smart Meters with these capabilities also provides a direct connection from publicly accessible devices to the internal components of the AMI deployment. The components added to Smart Meters include microcontrollers, data storage, and radios. Inclusion of these communication features lead to the installation of components and information that can be abused. However, remote data collection, monitoring, configuration, and troubleshooting goals lead to Smart Meters which include two-way communications. If Smart Meters only measured and stored data more accurately, security might not be such a concern. The hardware engineers focused on reliability issues rather than the impact these design considerations would have on the whole of the AMI implementation. It is not unheard of for electrical equipment to have a forty-year-plus lifespan 4 with twenty years being the "rule-of-thumb" industry standard to even be considered for deployment the first round of Smart Meters was built with this stability in mind. For years utilities have been heavily dependent on the stability and resilience of the hardware that comprises their infrastructure. 3 As with all new technologies, Smart Meters are still being evaluated for security risks. In a world where the demand for electricity is rapidly increasing, 2 the Smart Meter offers one method to provide better management and ensure peak load reductions.
They do this by controlling demand with the assistance of their customers. Smart Meters also put in place mechanisms to manage the stability of the grid. Smart Meters accomplish this by providing utilities with accurate, real-time and historical, consumption data. 1 Smart Meters, one of the primary components of a utility's Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), play an important role to improving the stability, efficiency, and reliability of the new, smarter electrical grid. The news is littered with public disclosures of smart meter sales and implementations. Weber, Senior Security Analyst White PaperĢ TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Role of Smart Meters Risk Presented by the Optical Port OptiGuard Optical Port Risk Mitigations Conclusion Acknowledgements 12 OptiGuard: A Smart Meter Assessment Toolkit 2ģ 1.0 ROLE OF SMART METERS The meter portion of the electrical grids throughout the world is swiftly being converted to Smart Meters. 1 OPTIGUARD: A SMART METER ASSESSMENT TOOLKIT Presented by: INGUARDIANS, INC.
0 kommentar(er)
