Smart meters can be hacked to cut power bills

[Conniff]

Smart meters widely used in Spain can be hacked to under-report energy use, security researchers have found.

Poorly protected credentials inside the devices could let attackers take control over the gadgets, warn the researchers.

 

 

The utility that deployed the meters is now improving the devices' security to help protect its network.

 

 

The discovery comes as one security expert warns some terror groups may attack critical infrastructure systems.

 

 

Many utility companies are installing smart meters to help customers monitor and manage their power use and help them be more energy efficient.

"We took them apart to see how they work," said independent researcher Javier Vidal who, with Alberto Illera, found the flaws in the smart meters.

 

 

"We suspected there could be some issues with them and we wanted to check.

"We feared the security would be easy to break and we confirmed that," he told the BBC.

Network nodes

 

 

BBC