Analysis of the security anomalies in the smart metering infrastructure and its impact on energy profiling and measurement

Security of the smart metering infrastructure, which is a part of the smart grid initiative, intended at transitioning the legacy power grid system into a robust, reliable, adaptable and intelligent energy utility, is an imminent problem that needs to be addressed quickly. Moreover, the increasingly intensifying integration of smart metering infrastructure with other ecosystem applications and the underlying communication technology is forcing both the consumer and the utility provider to meticulously look into the security and privacy issues of the smart grid. To achieve this, improvements on the existing architecture that uses smart meters interacting with smart grid is needed. This architecture would help in consolidation and aggregation of the energy usage and generation as intelligent communicators instead of focusing them as isolated passive units in the energy grid. The study presented in the paper analyses the various existing smart metering infrastructure, threats and vulnerabilities that has the potential to disrupt the operation and deployment of automation systems in smart grids. Furthermore, an elaborate study and subsequent analysis have been made on a live consumer meter setup in a non-invasive manner, which shows the various security loopholes and deficiencies of a large deployment of unattended smart meters. The study identifies the potential gaps and suggests possible measures for a cost effective and robust solution to cater for present as well as future needs.