http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-grid-security-20140407,0,5068036.story#axzz2z0o728ZRAs I've previously posted -- going back months -- the digital control system of the Pocos is WIDE OPEN to hackers.
They never thought to put any encryption protocols in place -- from the very start.
It's idiot simple to hijack a residential digital meter -- so as to change readings or even shut it off -- or turn it back on.
From what I've read, whomever designed the system was a digital naif.
IIRC, there was a Poco in Caribbean (Puerto Rico?) who was being cleaned out by digital robin hoods. They were re-setting meters back down to trivial values -- all over the place. The Poco couldn't prove nothing. Their digital meters left no trace of prior intrusions.
Perfect.
For those not aware: digital meters permit anyone to turn off the juice remotely. Even a Wifi enabled laptop is enough -- if the player is so minded.
This folly goes back up the line: even the national grid is wide open to a hack attack. A couple of laptop warriors would be more than sufficient.
I surmise that the meters themselves will have to be jerked out and replaced. It will take epoxy encapsulated ROM chips to frustrate hacking. Any software oriented cure will remain wide open to hacking gambits known far and wide.
Though this reality has been in print for more than a year, we're still reading that officialdom has not woken up.
