Some Smart Meters Broadcast Readings in the Clear

alphadogg writes "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." Perhaps more distressing, given trends in 4th amendment interpretation, I bet the transmissions are open game for law enforcement.

Comments

Re:Reaching for paranoia

[ThatsMyNick]

If someone wants to know who all houses in the neighborhood that are currently empty, yes this is the best way to do it. You can also identify which houses have no neighbors at home. I could also be very useful, if you are trying to improve your efficiency and are targeting more than one house at the same time.

Lights Also Transmit Signals

[MacroSlopp]

You can also tell if someone is home through unencrypted lightbulb signals through windows.

Re:Reaching for paranoia

[girlinatrainingbra]

In our neighborhood in La Jolla, a couple of neighbors got burgled while they were away for a month or so, even though they had stopped mail delivery, stopped newspaper delivery, had people coming by to check on the house, had put the exterior and interior lights and even the television on electrical timers so it would appear that someone was still at home... What they'd forgotten about was water usage. When they caught the crooks two months later when they tried to pawn a particularly unique piece of silver jewelry and the cops traced and jailed them was that they had a notebook of water meter readings.

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One of them had put on an orange vest like a construction worker or traffic worker guy and walked the choice neighborhoods and recorded the meter readings. They came back two weeks later, and la voila, anyone whose water had not budged too much was obviously not at home flushing or showering or cooking. (I guess water sprinklers could screw it up in some places, but here we've got two meters: the sprinkler meter only gets you billed for water usage, the house water meter gets you billed for water usage and for sewer usage.)

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The meter reading trick does not require wireless access. Most meters are located in a position where the meter-reader does not have to enter a backyard or gated restricted portion of the property. And seriously, has anyone ever stopped or challenged a meter-reader and said "Hey, let me see you badge, and then call someone and verify it!". I don't think so. So after all this rambling, yes I agree with you, they are reaching pretty hard and being paranoid.

Burglary: No--Spoofing: More likely

[ThundrNeon]

As a meter reader who actually reads some of these AMR meters, I'd say using the information for burglaries is a stretch. Even if you get the info it only includes meter number and reading. Since the address is not listed I can only see it being useful in rural areas where houses are far enough apart to be able to tell which house it is without physically checking the meter. For reference, I can pick up AMR meters in rural areas from about 1/2 to 3/4 a mile away while driving 50 mph. I see the greater nefarious use would be to send out a slightly stronger signal to send a different reading and hence lower your utility bill. Since this process would be wireless and most likely involve doing nothing to the physical meter itself it would be near impossible to catch it as tampering. Also since in my area AMR meters are almost never physically checked, even a physical modification would likely go unnoticed for years.