back to article Smart meter hack framework goes open-source

Security outfit SecureState’s smart meter hacking framework, Termineter, has gone live over at Google Code. The software is described as having a structure like Metasploit, with a similar interface and ability to be extended with external modules. Termineter isn’t up to the full doomsday-scenario “remote attack” that troubles …

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  1. Anomalous Cowturd
    Stop

    Why bother?

    Just loop between your meter live in and out and hey presto, free leccy! (Warning, may void your warranty/liberty/life).

    It's not exactly rocket surgery...

    Or is this one of those "coz we can" things? In which case, carry on chaps.

    ;o)

    1. heyrick Silver badge

      Re: Why bother?

      I knew a guy... used to burn scrap wood in his living room, and used to climb electric poles armed with big rubber mitts and battery jump leads wired to an extension lead socket so he could clip on to the outdoor electric wires to make his morning coffee. Unless he got himself arrested (all too often), in which case it was free heating and free food.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Alien

        Re: I knew a guy...

        Not sure whether Lynch movie.

  2. Pet Peeve
    Boffin

    Zzzaaap

    Leaving aside the legality, jumpering the raw power feed is a great way to burn down your neighborhood. Short your power cord, and you've got a 22kw space heater, and 2 seconds later you have a strip of molten copper and possibly a flaming transformer on the pole out back.

    1. Anonymous Coward 15
      Boffin

      Re: Zzzaaap

      If you're thinking about jumpering live to neutral, there's a big fuse just before the meter. You'd also have to be unable to tell red from black (brown from blue on new installations).

    2. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
      Facepalm

      Re: Zzzaaap

      I remember a story that Jerry Pournelle reported in his BYTE magazine column (late 80's) about a guy who crashed his car into a electricity supply pole dropping the 22Kv lines onto the 110V domestic supply lines and frying any electric appliance one the local section of the grid that was plugged in at the time.

      Bit of a spat between insurance companies as to had to pay.....

  3. andy mcandy
    Coat

    A better title

    would have been "The Ternimeter" imo

    (works best in a mock south african accent)

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Another, more realistic one, would be "Remote Meter Control Adapter", because somebody is going to have theirs hacked for sure.

  4. Anonymous Coward 15
    Boffin

    Is the signal anything like IrDA or the IR used in TV remotes? Just wondering about putting something together with an Arduino. We had a (non-smart) electronic meter fitted last year as a routine replacement.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      What I do...

      I have a system setup on my gas meter which uses a IR LED and IR Transistor in a single package, it attaches to the front of the meter (currently with blu tack) and can read the zero on the rightmost roller as it's mirrored. You can do similar things with a leccy meter, some have an LED which pulses per .1KWh.

      If the meter switches on and off, you'll need to make sure that your sample rate takes into account the speed with which your indicator can switch.

  5. Mystic Megabyte
    Mushroom

    I'm building a small nuclear power plant in my kitchen, that should make the meter spin backwards fairly quickly. Lewis told me they're safe. but does the red wire connect to the the brown thingy?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      waste of time

      The chinese will do you one for next to nothing. Very safe as well.

      1. hplasm
        Happy

        Re: waste of time

        I have one from EBay. P&P is a killer though. 3 stars.

    2. BristolBachelor Gold badge
      Coat

      I'd be careful with that. Heard a very funny story here about people putting PV panels on their houses to save their elec costs. Some of them have completely over-done it and often end up supplying energy to the grid. The funny part is that the meters do not meter the direction of power flow, just the quantity of power running through it. The outcome was that their bills went up, and they were supplying the grid!

      One of the power engineers here said that it was because the designers assumed that negative power delivery meant that the meter had been fitted backwards so the meter just counts it as forwards power.

  6. Big_Boomer Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    Hackzd

    All your Electricity/Water/Gas are belong to us.

    We will now Quadruple your fuel bills and switch off your water.

    And that's just from the Utility Company.

    Gawd knows what the Hactivists will do with this.

    1. sueme2
      Happy

      Re: Hackzd

      Improve security around the metering for one thing.

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