There are signs the smart gird is under attack. Not on a large scale, or successfully, so far. But indications are that hackers have turned their intention from the Internet to the power grid.
The roadmap for doing so is publicly available. Last year, IOActive attracted broad attention when its researchers found vulnerabilities in a smart meter and suggested only $500 of equipment was be needed to get inside. The security firm then paved a path by adding software code to one device and spreading to another, as if it were a digital worm or a virus on the Internet.
SmartSynch adds IPsec authentication to its GridRouter. Analysts says utilities need to adopt security strategies
Just last month, InGuardian joined the search party. It was hired by three utilities to probe smart grids and smart meters, and it found flaws in meters from each of the top five manufacturers. The flaws were serious. The researchers found they could sneak inside the meters, the first step to stealing data or turning off power.
According to analysts, smart grid security is a problem that utilities haven’t yet faced up to addressing. There is “denial about the scope and extent” of efforts required to secure smart grids, wrote one Gartner analyst just last week.
Meter and equipment makers have responded by adding more security to their devices. But many analysts argue the biggest improvement will come when utilities focus less on spot solutions and adopt broad security programs or strategies.
Nonetheless, worthwhile improvements continue in the vendor community. In one announcement Wednesday, SmartSynch struck a deal with security firm AuthenTec to add IPsec security to its GridRouter.
The grid router already encrypts communications. Now it will require equipment to authenticate its identity with secure “certificates” before data can be sent.
With some 8 million smart meters deployed in the United States, “we have to assume there are bad actors out there,” says Ravi Raju, SmartSynch’s vice president of corporate strategy.
Posted by Mark Boslet 
