Safety Issues of Smart Energy
The potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) in terms of enhancing the convenience and comfort of consumers is beyond doubt, and one of the areas in which this technology can significantly change life can be “smart meters” through which people and companies can Newly monitor and manage energy consumption at home, in offices and in manufacturing. However, as with any other connected devices, in the case of smart meters you should not forget about security.
If earlier, when billing for electricity, the management companies relied on data on electricity consumption for previous periods, or went to "take" meter readings to the client, now with the advent of smart meters, energy companies have the opportunity to see the current energy consumption of a separate apartment or company in real time, allowing you to more accurately track power consumption and invoice. Smart meter systems provide new opportunities for improving the quality of demand and supply management. In particular, suppliers can now track stocks of available energy that can be sold to other market participants who need it. Modern systems are already working not only on fossil fuels, but also actively use renewable energy sources, and today more and more market participants produce and sell such energy when they do not consume it for their own needs.
On the changes awaiting modern energy in our video:
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As with any other connected devices, in the case of smart meters you should be safe. And since energy networks are a critical part of national infrastructure, it is extremely important to ensure their reliable protection. Not so long ago, the European energy exhibition and conference European Utility Week took place in Amsterdam. We’ll tell you about the most urgent issues, unique challenges and challenges that have to be solved in connection with the development of smart meters.
IoT is an attractive target for cybercriminals who have already been able to gain access to unprotected devices through the Mirai and Reaper botnets, which have hit millions of networks around the world and have left nearly a million users in Germany alone. At the same time, the energy infrastructure is a visible target for cyber attacks, and as we saw in the Stuxnet attack, the consequences can be quite devastating. The ability to turn off electricity in entire countries, the ability to gain access to personal data and even the infrastructure of nuclear power plants - all this makes the smart energy ecosystem extremely attractive for cybercriminals. Smart meters and smart networks offer attackers many potential ways to launch attacks that need to be eliminated, while protecting the entire ecosystem.
That is why the governments of countries such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States come out with their own initiatives that make it necessary to use certain security protocols when deploying smart networks. Failure to comply with these protocols simply threatens companies with a market failure and is fraught with heavy fines.
Usually smart meters are not installed for a couple of years, then to change them by others - it is assumed that they will serve 10-15 years. This means that you need to use modern security processes that will replace obsolete keys and implement remote account management, as well as support strong encryption and authentication tools so that only authorized parties can access energy data and manage energy assets.
In addition, smart meters can be installed in extremely hard-to-reach places. The scope of their application is very wide and extends to countries and even beyond. In this case, the devices themselves can be mounted in the wall, installed behind closed doors or on physically remote sites, for example, in mines or on shelf installations. All this greatly complicates preventive maintenance, making it expensive and time consuming. Therefore, the possibility of remote monitoring of smart meters is in essence a necessity and allows real-time protection of the ecosystem in the long term.
Finally, the energy market is developing dynamically. New players regularly appear while others leave. In this regard, the smart meter ecosystem must be configured so that only authorized organizations and applications can access the measurement data and so that, if necessary, access rights can be changed quickly.
Because smart meter makers may not be big experts on the security of the Internet of Things, they should work with digital security companies, which will allow them not to compromise the infrastructure of smart meters (Advanced Metering Infrastructures, AMIs).
According to a recent survey by Gemalto and Vanson Bourne, which covered about 1,000 decision makers, more than 90% of service providers indicated that using a secure IoT infrastructure boosts sales, and 57% expressed a desire to get help from IoT security experts to deploy infrastructure that was would be able to develop over a fairly long life of the connected devices.
With Gemalto's comprehensive approach to the security of a smart energy ecosystem, specialized solutions that involve the use of encrypted keys and secure storage in smart meters starting from their manufacture, as well as our account lifecycle management solutions that enable strong authentication for working with assets and provide access to these assets only for authorized players can be found on the page .
If earlier, when billing for electricity, the management companies relied on data on electricity consumption for previous periods, or went to "take" meter readings to the client, now with the advent of smart meters, energy companies have the opportunity to see the current energy consumption of a separate apartment or company in real time, allowing you to more accurately track power consumption and invoice. Smart meter systems provide new opportunities for improving the quality of demand and supply management. In particular, suppliers can now track stocks of available energy that can be sold to other market participants who need it. Modern systems are already working not only on fossil fuels, but also actively use renewable energy sources, and today more and more market participants produce and sell such energy when they do not consume it for their own needs.
On the changes awaiting modern energy in our video:
')
As with any other connected devices, in the case of smart meters you should be safe. And since energy networks are a critical part of national infrastructure, it is extremely important to ensure their reliable protection. Not so long ago, the European energy exhibition and conference European Utility Week took place in Amsterdam. We’ll tell you about the most urgent issues, unique challenges and challenges that have to be solved in connection with the development of smart meters.
Attractive target for cybercriminals
IoT is an attractive target for cybercriminals who have already been able to gain access to unprotected devices through the Mirai and Reaper botnets, which have hit millions of networks around the world and have left nearly a million users in Germany alone. At the same time, the energy infrastructure is a visible target for cyber attacks, and as we saw in the Stuxnet attack, the consequences can be quite devastating. The ability to turn off electricity in entire countries, the ability to gain access to personal data and even the infrastructure of nuclear power plants - all this makes the smart energy ecosystem extremely attractive for cybercriminals. Smart meters and smart networks offer attackers many potential ways to launch attacks that need to be eliminated, while protecting the entire ecosystem.
That is why the governments of countries such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the United States come out with their own initiatives that make it necessary to use certain security protocols when deploying smart networks. Failure to comply with these protocols simply threatens companies with a market failure and is fraught with heavy fines.
Smart meters have a long life cycle ...
Usually smart meters are not installed for a couple of years, then to change them by others - it is assumed that they will serve 10-15 years. This means that you need to use modern security processes that will replace obsolete keys and implement remote account management, as well as support strong encryption and authentication tools so that only authorized parties can access energy data and manage energy assets.
... and often installed in hard to reach places
In addition, smart meters can be installed in extremely hard-to-reach places. The scope of their application is very wide and extends to countries and even beyond. In this case, the devices themselves can be mounted in the wall, installed behind closed doors or on physically remote sites, for example, in mines or on shelf installations. All this greatly complicates preventive maintenance, making it expensive and time consuming. Therefore, the possibility of remote monitoring of smart meters is in essence a necessity and allows real-time protection of the ecosystem in the long term.
Dynamic market
Finally, the energy market is developing dynamically. New players regularly appear while others leave. In this regard, the smart meter ecosystem must be configured so that only authorized organizations and applications can access the measurement data and so that, if necessary, access rights can be changed quickly.
Because smart meter makers may not be big experts on the security of the Internet of Things, they should work with digital security companies, which will allow them not to compromise the infrastructure of smart meters (Advanced Metering Infrastructures, AMIs).
According to a recent survey by Gemalto and Vanson Bourne, which covered about 1,000 decision makers, more than 90% of service providers indicated that using a secure IoT infrastructure boosts sales, and 57% expressed a desire to get help from IoT security experts to deploy infrastructure that was would be able to develop over a fairly long life of the connected devices.
With Gemalto's comprehensive approach to the security of a smart energy ecosystem, specialized solutions that involve the use of encrypted keys and secure storage in smart meters starting from their manufacture, as well as our account lifecycle management solutions that enable strong authentication for working with assets and provide access to these assets only for authorized players can be found on the page .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/341276/
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