Worried about the security of the Smart Grid? You should be. Security researchers warn that the Smart Grid could become a hacker's playground. As proof, here are four ways the Smart Grid can be hacked.
Technology Review has an excellent article outlining ways in which the Smart Grid is vulnerable. Here, based on the article, are four ways it can be hacked via the smart meters that will be in businesses and people's homes.
Attack Smart Meter RAM
The article says that security researcher Travis Goodspeed warns that attackers will be able to hack directly into smart meter RAM, and by doing that, get free reign. It sounds a little James Bond-ish, but here's how the articles claims says it can be done:
If the meter hasn't been built with protective features, a hacker can use syr The smart meter's two-way radio chip allows the device to be read remotely and to receive commands over the network. The software in the chip contains security codes that an attacker who's cracked the meter's programming can use to get on the network and begin issuing commands. Goodspeed has shown that the codes can be extracted using syringes in a process similar to the attack on the memory. Hack the Meter Wirelessly
The article says that David Baker, director of services for security firm IOActive, warns that hackers can get into the meter via its wireless networking device for communicating with the network:
An attacker can use a software radio, which can be programmed to emulate a variety of communicati To demonstrate his attack, Davis crafted a piece of malware that could self-replicate to other meters, allowing an attacker to shut them down remotely. In simulations, Davis showed that if his worm were released in an area where all the houses were equipped with the same brand of meter, the worm could spread to 15,000 homes in the space of 24 hours
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