Smart meters not so clever about privacy, researchers find

Source: Network World

Researchers at the University of South Carolina have discovered that some types of electricity meter are broadcasting unencrypted information that, with the right software, would enable eavesdroppers to determine whether you're at home.

The meters, called AMR (automatic meter reading) in the utility industry, are a first-generation smart meter technology and they are installed in one third of American homes and businesses. They are intended to make it easy for utilities to collect meter readings. Instead of requiring access to your home, workers need simply drive or walk by a house with a handheld terminal and the current meter reading can be received.

While many gas and water AMR meters continuously listen for a query signal from a meter reading terminal and only transmit a reading when requested, the researchers found at least one type of electricity meter works on the opposite principle. It continuously sends a meter reading every 30 seconds around the clock.

... In her tests, Xu found she was able to pull packets out of the air from target meters between once every 2 to 10 minutes. That's fast enough to be able to work out the average power consumption of a house and notice start to deduce when someone is at home.

Read more: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/110512-smart-meters-not-so-clever-263977.html

[hr]
Research paper "Neighborhood Watch: Security and Privacy Analysis of Automatic Meter Reading Systems" (pdf): http://www.cse.sc.edu/~wyxu/papers/fp023-rouf.pdf