Smart Grid Computers Susceptible To Worm Attack

narramissic writes "Researchers with security consultancy IOActive have created a worm that could quickly spread among Smart Grid devices, small computers connected to the power grid that give customers and power companies better control over the electricity they use. '[The worm] spread from one meter to another and then it changed the text in the LCD screen to say "pwned,"' said Travis Goodspeed, an independent security consultant who worked with the IOActive team. In the hands of a malicious hacker, this code could be used to cut power to Smart Grid devices that use a feature called 'remote disconnect,' which allows power companies to cut a customer's power via the network. The robustness of US power networks has been a hot-button issue after a technical glitch in 2003 caused a cascading power failure in the eastern United States and Canada that affected 55 million people."

Comments

lazy engineering

[Anonymous Coward]

I know about these.... they're running windows XP, and are on modems. They call in every now and then to get get updates from the main network.... its' the power grid from the future? More like 1990.

Re:lazy engineering

[mangu]

its' the power grid from the future? More like 1990.

Actually, power systems is a mature technology. The "bible" that every power engineer has is this book, first published in 1955. Notice that the book on sale is the fourth edition, printed in 1982. Nothing is changing very fast in this field.

The problem that could arise from a large number of Smart Grid computers being pwned is if a worm triggered them off at exactly the same time, this is called a "load rejection" event. It would cause oscillations in the power flow which could end in a blackout but, generally, load rejection is not as bad as generation rejection, which happens when a power plant is cut off.

Another problem that would cause much more harm to the companies than to users is if the worm instructed power meters to register less power consumption. I see a large black-market arising, if someone figures out how to write this exploit.

This shows the weakness of anything centralized

[cavehobbit]

This demonstrates the weakness of centralized power grids, like big hydro, big nukes, big coal, big solar arrays beaming power down to Earth, Big solar arrays covering the desert, or any other huge centralized 'answer' to our power generation problems. They are all vulnerable to DOS attacks or attacks on central points of weakness like power lines. It takes just one well crafted weapon, whether kinetic, EMP, radiological, chemical-explosive, cyber-viral-worm, etc., to plunge large populations into darkness and chaos.

Monolithic thinking leads to monolithic engineering, (not to mention monolithic politics), that concentrate your vulnerabilities and limit your flexibility in responding to problems.

Better to have many smaller, locally distributed sources. They make it far more difficult to attack them. Looks like Edison was right and Westinghouse was wrong. At least partially. Too bad we went with Westinghouse, at least so far as the centralized generator is concerned.

This is a challenge that evolution, free markets and democracy all respond to with good answers. Authoritarian structures like organized religions, socialism/communism and autocracy in general all respond poorly to.

This is also a vulnerability of the Internet, with its centralized DNS name servers. I wish I was knowledgeable enough to come up with a solution to that one.

"Remote disconnect" - implications

[Animats]

I hadn't been aware that "remote disconnect" was being incorporated into electric meters. Read this industry analysis of remote disconnect" for background. The "risk items" list doesn't even consider the implications of hostile attack.

The purpose of "remote disconnect" is to get more control over customers. Utilities are considering using this to enforce collection, and even for prepaid electric service. It's another way to tighten the screws on poor people, like prepaid cellular and paycheck loans.

There's another feature, current limiting - draw too much current and the power cuts off. The current limit can be set remotely. When someone gets behind on their bill, the power they can use is limited to survival levels until they pay up.

Vulnerabilities in the remote management system could be a serious problem. Will the keys be kept in a Microsoft system? If you thought it was bad when credit card numbers were stolen, what happens when someone steals the meter key database? The meters have to be physically visited, one at a time, to reset the keys. And who would do that? The meter readers get laid off when this goes in.