Security concept for a wide-area low-bandwidth power-line communication system

Abstract

Remote meter reading and data acquisition is gaining importance. Especially in situations where easily accessible communication media are used or multiple service providers are involved, security concerns appear which must be considered during the system design phase. This paper describes the security concept for the REMPLI system, a power-line-based communication infrastructure used to connect metering and control equipment to centrally located application servers. To efficiently cope with potential security threats, an asset and risk analysis was conducted which formed the basis for the setup of an appropriate security architecture. In addition, this article tackles selected problems of key distribution and the secure handling of data within a security token.