Smart meter SSL screw-up exposes punters' TV habitsAlso showed researchers WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE HOME

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By John Leyden • Get more from this author


Posted in Security, 9th January 2012 15:03 GMT


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White-hat hackers have exposed the privacy shortcomings of smart meter technology.



The researchers said German firm Discovergy apparently allowed
information gathered by its smart meters to travel over an insecure link
to its servers. The information – which could be intercepted –
apparently could be interpreted to reveal not only whether or not users
happened to be at home and consuming electricity at the time but even
what film they were watching, based on the fingerprint of power usage.
The many surprising secrets revealed by some smart meter set-ups were
revealed during a presentation by researchers Dario Carluccio and
Stephan Brinkhaus at the 28th Chaos Computing Congress (28c3) hacker
conference in Berlin late last month.




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During the talk, entitled, Smart Hacking for Privacy (YouTube video here),
the researchers explained that they came across numerous security and
privacy-related issues after signing up with the smart electricity meter
service supplied by Discovergy.


Because Discovergy's website's SSL certificate was misconfigured, the
meters failed to send data over a secure, encrypted link - contrary to
claims Discovergy made at the time before the presentation. This meant
that confidential electricity consumption data was sent in clear text.
Because meter readings were sent in clear text, the researchers were
able to intercept and send back forged (incorrect) meter readings back
to Discovergy.

In addition, the researchers discovered that a complete historical
record of users' meter usage was easily obtained from Discovergy's
servers via an interface designed to provide access to usage for only
the last three months. The meters supplied by the firm log power usage
in two-second intervals. This fine-grained data was enough not only to
determine what appliances a user was using over a period of time –
thanks to the power signature of particular devices – but even which
film they were watching.

They explained that the fluctuating brightness levels of a film or TV
show when displayed on a plasma-screen or LCD TV created fluctuating
power-consumption levels. This creates a power/consumption signature for
a film that might be determined from the readings obtained by
Discovergy's technology. The researchers concluded that the two-second
frequency of power readings was unnecessary for Discovergy's stated goal
of providing a warning for consumers should they, for example, have
left an iron on after leaving the house.

Nikolaus Starzacher, chief exec of Discovergy, was among those who
attended the presentation. He thanked the researchers for their work and
promised to adapt Discovergy's technology so as to minimise potential
security and privacy concerns.

More commentary on the presentation can be found in a blog post by Sophos here.



Smart meters: an ongoing security threat?

Smart meters bring two-way communication between a meter and the
central control system of a gas or electricity utility. Suppliers want
to introduce the technology not only because it simplifies the process
of collecting meter reading, but also because it makes it easier to
control supply at times of peak demand. The technology also makes it
easier to switch late or unreliable payers onto higher tariffs.

Some security experts, most notably Ross Anderson, professor in
security engineering at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory,
have warned that smart metering introduces a "strategic vulnerability"
that might be exploited to remotely switch off elements on the gas or
electricity supply grid. Government ministers in the UK have downplayed
such fears but the work of the German researchers raise new concerns,
related to privacy. ®