Poor smart meters. Over the past year or so, some high-profile debacles have made them gadgets non grata in some communities, most notably in Bakersfield, California and parts of Texas. Worse, this dark cloud is endangering smart grid roll-outs in other areas. The cause: confusing rate changes, human error and/or meters that were too accurate […]
Cisco snaps up smart grid firm Arch Rock
In case there’s any doubt that Cisco is taking the smart grid seriously, Earth2Tech’s Katie Fehrenbacher is reporting today that the computer networking giant is buying up San Francisco-based wireless smart grid networking firm Arch Rock. Terms, as they say, are undisclosed (drat!). The main draw? “Arch Rock’s wireless mesh technology enhances Cisco’s IP-based, end-to-end […]
Stuxnet: Prelude to smart grid security threats
Have you heard of Stuxnet? Unless you run industrial or power control systems, the emergence of this nasty little piece of malware probably didn’t even cause the slightest blip on your radar. But that’s no reason to ignore it. Stuxnet targets Siemens Simatic WinCC, a Windows-based suite of software that’s used by industrial plants and […]
