Big Brother Watch has written a number of times about the forthcoming introduction of Smart Meters to British homes (see here and here for further information and our most in-depth articles). As you will see, we have always been wary of the remit of the technology and its implications for ever closer control of our personal energy use.
It is thus with much interest that we read a new report out last week - Smart Meter Security - published by clean technology analyst group Pike Research, which described smart meters as "one of the weakest links in the smart grid security chain".
The technology at the heart of the government’s plans to roll out smart meters to every home and small business in the country are fundamentally insecure and will be successfully attacked by hackers, according to researchers.
“It would be naïve to think that smart meters will not be successfully attacked. They will be,” the report states. “In fact, smart meters represent a worst-case scenario in terms of security: the devices lack sufficient power to execute strong security software; they are placed in physically non- secure locations; and they are installed in volumes large enough that one or two may not be missed.”
According to Pike, the gap in smart meter and grid security won’t be solved using existing architectures and it will take until at least 2013 for solutions to be properly developed.
When I spoke against the introduction of Smart Meters in a debate on BBC 5Live earlier this year, the gentleman speaking in support (from one of the large energy companies) dismissed my fears about the potential for Government intervention, but admitted that the majority of the security features had been built into protecting the machines and not the data they transmitted.
This latest report by Pike Research, would certainly seem to support that information. It will be interesting to watch how the Government - who seem committed to their introduction - react.
By Dylan Sharpe
HI
Smart meters are akin to having a mobile phone mast inside the house constantly transmitting. Exposure levels will be similar
Diseases associated with the radiation exposure are cancers and autoimmune diseases as well as heart attacks and strokes after about 10 to 15 years
People who are already sensitive to this type of radiation will be refusing to have these devices imposed upon them for health reasons.
See
www.mastsanity.org
Posted by: Sue | 31/08/2010 at 12:39 AM
US group taking action on smart meters, we just sit back in this country and take it up the .....! Wake up Britian, we are going to get fried. and snooped upon. Who owns the data?
http://stopsmartmeters.wordpress.com/
Posted by: GP | 02/02/2011 at 09:12 AM
www.newtup.org www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/121825-decc-confirms-talks-with-dept-of-health-over-smart-meter-risks.html
DECC confirms talks with Dept of Health over
smart meter risks
by Natalie Evans 25 Jan 2011
Officials from the UK's Department of Energy and Climate
Change have confirmed “discussions” with their counterparts
at the Health Department over safety concerns regarding the
mass installation of smart meters.
Energy chiefs say talks will continue with the Department of
Health as worries grow over research linking smart meter
technology and an increased risk of cancer.
The news follows a warning that indoor electromagnetic fields
and radio waves emitted by smart meters pose a growing
health risk.
Smart meters are at centre of growing health scare
The risk of cancer has been linked to intense or prolonged exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs)
and radio frequencies (RFs).
Worries persist about the potential for mobile phones to cause brain tumours.
And now researchers are warning of the risks from the cumulative effect of waves emitted by electric,
gas and water smart meters, together with other devices in the home.
The Government is working with Ofgen to carry forward plans for every home in Britain should be fitted
with remote-linked smart meters by 2020.
But experts say that combined with wi-fi hubs, mobile phones and other wireless devices this array of
meters will turn homes into something like the inside of a microwave oven.
Smart meters record the exact levels of gas and electricity households use and remotely report the
data to suppliers, doing away with meter readings and estimated bills.
The new generation of radio-linked smart meters were first introduced in the UK in September 2008, for
customers in the East and West Midlands.
In December 2009, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) announced its intention to
roll-out smart meters to all UK homes by the end of 2020.
But with more than 20,000 UK homes now using smart meter technology, wireless networks are
coming under increased scrutiny.
The World Health Organisation states that EMFs are not harmful if they remain within strict frequency
boundaries set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
However, an investigation conducted by researchers in the USA, where smart meters have been used
since 2006, warns emissions can exceed safety limits.
But a report from, California-based Sage Environmental Consulting, reveals that the constant presence
of a smart meter could lead to prolonged exposure to potentially harmful RFs.
The Sage report says: "Significant unanswered questions still exist about what levels of radio-
frequency microwave radiation will be produced by these [smart] meters.
"Smart meters can produce excessively elevated RF exposures, depending on where they are
installed.
"With respect to absolute RF exposure levels predicted for occupied space within dwellings, or outside
areas like patios, gardens and walk-ways, RF levels are predicted to be substantially elevated within a
few feet to within a few tens of feet from the meter(s).
"The rollout of millions of new RF sources (smart meters) will mean far greater general population
exposures, and potential health consequences."
The paper explains that people are already increasingly exposed to radiofrequency radiation at home
through the use of numerous wireless devices.
These include mobile and cordless telephones, Blackberry and iPhones, broadband, baby monitors
and home security systems.
The report concludes that neither the authorities, nor the utility providers nor the consumer "know what
portion of the allowable public safety limit is already being used up or pre-empted by RF from other
sources already present in the particular location a smart meter may be installed and operated."
The DECC states that the issue was noted in an impact assessment which was published alongside
the department's 'Smart Meters Prospectus' last July.
A DECC spokesman said: "We will keep under review any evidence related to the effects of
radiofrequency signals on the health of individuals.
"Smart meters can pave the way for a transformation in the way energy is supplied and used. They will
provide consumers with real-time information about energy use, enabling them to monitor and manage
their use.
"Consumers will receive accurate bills. Switching between suppliers will be smoother and faster and
improvements in the delivery of energy efficiency advice will be supported.
"Decisions on the communications requirements for smart meters have not yet been made and a
communications technology solution has not yet been selected.
"Part of the work of the Smart Meter Implementation Programme, which is being taken forward by
DECC and Ofgem, will be to develop detailed plans in relation to smart meter communications
requirements, whether in the home or outside.
"This work will consider the range of issues relating to smart meter communications and the different
technology solutions, including concerns expressed by some people about electromagnetic fields and
electrical sensitivity.
"We will continue to discuss the issues raised with the Department of Health, Health Protection Agency
and other relevant organisations as our work on smart metering progresses.
"We are currently examining the responses to the recent consultation on the roll out of smart meters,
and we will publish the Government’s response along with the plans for the roll out later this year."
www.next-up.org/Newsoftheworld/Smart_Meter.php
Posted by: gp | 02/02/2011 at 09:57 AM
http://www.smartmeterdangers.org/
http://stopsmartmeters.wordpress.com/
http://weepnews.blogspot.com/search/label/French
es-uk.info
Posted by: GP | 15/02/2011 at 07:16 AM
Another thing I noticed was that she had a tendency to start mumbling when she started to lost interest. Then, she would either only say 1/2 the word or would just guess the word without reading any of the letters.
Needless to say, as a teacher, this was more than a little frustrating.
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