[ NNSquad ] Re: AP: "Smart" Electric meters and systems have serious security holes

[Craig Finseth <fin@helium.iphouse.net>]

   AP: "Smart" Electric meters and systems have serious security holes

   http://bit.ly/aGxjJQ  (AP)

   And this is supposed to be a surprise?  But c'mon, would "evil hackers"
   *really* want to turn off electric power remotel$23$#@D@)a@$%

Probably not to you as an individual.

But a relationship partner could well want to cause you problems.

Or, someone could use these to create the world's largest botnet.

There are _no_ requirements on utilities in this area: home meters are
not considered "critical infrastructure."

These things should be at least as resistant to attack as PS/3s,
Xboxes, and iPods.  (That's a minimum, not a maximum.)

There's a whole lot of other issues (private data disclosure, etc.)
above and beyond the purely "how do I manage to keep my code running"
ones.

Craig

   [ Sigh.  I should know better than to try make jokes
     with this crowd.  I was being sarcastic of course with
     my little "message cut off" joke.  Obviously, there are *lots*
     of people and groups who would *love* to get their grumby
     fingers illicitly into the power grid at both the macro
     and micro levels, and any rush into these systems without
     due care could make current Internet outages look like
     a picnic by comparison.  Want to bring back the jungle
     *really* fast?  Just cut off the power for a while.

     Actually -- come to think of it -- there was an episode
     of the original "Twilight Zone" that addressed the topic
     like this:

     http://bit.ly/aYEpUE  (YouTube)

        -- Lauren Weinstein
           NNSquad Moderator ]