How secure are smart
They save money and time – and will also keep your energy data safe
he technology in our homes is changing all the time – with smart meters now replacing old-fashioned gas and electricity meters.
The meters – which report our gas and electricity use to energy companies in near-real time – remove the need to send manual meter readings, and do away with the infuriating process of estimated bills. If used correctly they can save us both energy and money.
Over the next two years, the Government hopes every household and small business will make the switch from analogue energy meters to smart meters.
“With thousands of smart meters being installed every day, more and more households and small businesses are taking control of their energy,” says Claire Perry MP, Minister for Energy and Clean Growth. know about us and our habits?
In this, the fourth in a series of investigations into smart meters, the Daily Express sets out to uncover the truth about whether the meters could pose a security risk.
Despite their name, smart meters are not like other ‘smart’ devices, like TVs, telephones and even kettles, which communicate information via WiFi.
Smart meters instead send usage data to energy companies via a network similar to the one used to send text messages.
Further reassurance comes from the fact that the smart meter system has been created by some of the country’s most skilled professionals.
“The system is very secure,” says Robert Cheesewright, Policy and Communications Director at Smart Energy GB. “It has been designed by some of the world’s best financial details are not stored on your smart meter.” One of the great benefits of smart meters is that they collect data on when people use energy, helping the energy network to meet demand.
There are more than 11 million smart meters operating nationwide, making it convenient for people to see how much gas and electricity they are using without having to wait until they see their bills.
However, some remain concerned that the information used by the meters could be sold to other companies for commercial gain.
With the onset of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), other companies can only access information gleaned by a smart meter if the owner gives express permission.
There have also been reports that energy companies can turn off the supply to individual houses remotely if they have a smart meter. But this will not happen before the energy company has firstly contacted the customer to discuss options to repay the debt (for example, through a repayment plan), and then thoroughly assessed the impact of being disconnected. Professor Kamal Bechkoum, cyber security expert from the University of Gloucestershire, reminds us that we should all be mindful of our digital security as a matter of course, as our homes become more advanced.
“It is estimated that as many as 75 billion [internet-connected] devices will be in operation by the year 2020, with phones, cameras, TVs, washing machines and even kettles joining a growing list of items we can now interact with,” he says.
“As this market increases, hackers may look to attack these new devices, which poses a real security threat if proper precautions are not taken.
“Thankfully systems like smart meters, which are being installed throughout the country, are not connected to the internet and are designed to be part of a secure system which is extremely hard to hack.” Dr Ian Levy, Chief Technical director of National Cyber Security Centre, agrees.
“Security lies at the heart of the smart metering system and has been a key consideration at every stage of system development to ensure there are no loopholes,” he says.
“The system operates on a national scale and has been designed as a secure end-to-end system, not just a collection of meters, energy suppliers and other components that have evolved individually.” Smart Energy GB is a governmentbacked organisation tasked with informing Great Britain about the benefits of the smart meter rollout