European Smart Grids: vulnerabilities and standard

As the smart grid of 2020 is expected to see the growth of smart meter units installed in Europe, perhaps someone needs to take a long hard look at the security of such systems. The cumulative number of smart meter units installed in Europe is set to grow from 7.6 million units in 2010 to 106 million units in 2020 at a CAGR of 30.2%. There is particular focus in Europe on the implementation of smart meters, especially in France, Spain, and the UK, all of which have strong smart-meter deployment plans. For example, according to reports in June, Siemens had fixed the vulnerability in its industrial control kit similar to those the Stuxnet worm exploits. In August, however, it received notification of a different breach by the US ICS-Cert (United States Industrial-Control Systems Cyber Emergency-Response Team) over a vulnerability discovered in RuggedCom's operating system that would give attackers a way to decrypt traffic between an end user and the router. RuggedCom, acquired by Siemens in March, manufactures Ethernet switches, network routers, wireless devices, serial servers, media converters, and other communications equipment used in harsh electrical and climatic environments found in electrical-power substations, oil refineries, military installations, or roadside traffic-control cabinets. Perhaps Europe could learn from the Swedish experience since 100% smart meter penetration was achieved by July 2009, when it became the first country to do so. It achieved this by mandating monthly meter-value collection by utilities. An increase in customer awareness of smart grid technologies, however, is leading to data-security concerns. Interesting to note, increased awareness of smart meters has raised concerns over security and customer-privacy rights in Europe. These concerns have led the EC (European Commission) to issue a mandate to ESOs (European Standardisation Organisations) to develop technical standards for smart grids taking a privacy-by-design approach. Industry watchers expect the reference architecture for smart grids in Europe and an essential set of standards to issue by the end of 2012. Power Systems Design Editor's note: For more on security in Smart-Grid applications, see the article "Securing the life cycle in the smart grid" in Design Centers - Supplying the power Grid