Advanced Metering: Ecosystem, Security threats and Counter measures→

The operation and control of the current power grid depends on a complex network of computers, software, and communication technologies that, if compromised by hackers, could be used to cause great damage, including extended power outages and destruction of electrical equipment. Therefore, known vulnerabilities in these systems must be mitigated in order to increase the security and success of the Smart Grid. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) offers a more sophisticated two way communication system that collects measure and analyzes energy usage, from network-connected devices such as electricity meters, gas meters, and/or water meters. But all these devices are susceptible to hackers. This article highlights what is needed to secure a smart grid.

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Anti tamper real time clock (RTC) – make your embedded system secure→

The implementation of security features in embedded applications like utility metering, power distribution etc is becoming increasingly important. Lot of hacks around this area are related to tampering the time. While most of the anti-hacking techniques known can be handled in software, it is always secure and accurate to implement necessary ones in hardware. It is also efficient and cheaper to implement these techniques in System on Chip(SoC) than adding additional necessary logic on board that may open up more security holes. These hardware techniques need to be active at all times and must be monitored in all conditions. Since the Real Time Clock or RTC is a module that functions independently (both in terms of power supply and system clocks) with respect to rest of the blocks in a SoC, it inherently becomes the choice to implement the anti tamper functions. This article describes some of the techniques that can be well handled by RTC within a SoC by providing efficient protection against hardware as well as software tampers, thereby making it an essential item in every secure system. A small yet powerful block.

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Prevent tampering in energy meters→

Today energy theft is a worldwide problem that contributes heavily to revenue losses. Consumers have been found manipulating their electric meters, causing them to stop, under-register or even bypassing the meter, effectively using power without paying for it. This article discusses vulnerabilities, challenges and techniques to prevent tampering in an energy meter.

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“A “Stitch” in Time: Accurate Timekeeping with On-Chip Compensation→

Applications like Energy Meters that rely on real time data require accurate time under all environmental conditions. Typically, these applications rely on Real Time Clock (RTC) for all real time operations but there are many factors like crystal aging, incorrect loading and temperature variations that tend to change the frequency of the clock used for RTC resulting in inaccurate time. Hence there is an unavoidable need to have compensation technique inside the RTC to counter balance this error in clock frequency of crystal. This paper describes a digital hardware compensation technique which compensates by adding or removing pulses in a particular timing window thus maintaining accurate clock. Technique described in this paper uses simple hardware to ensure low power consumption thus maintaining longer battery life. This enables applications to use cheaper crystal that may be inaccurate and compensate for the inaccuracies within the hardware thus reducing board cost.

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