Missing Power, Exposed Genealogy - The Puerto Rico Smart Meter Case (2012)."

Missing Power, Exposed Genealogy - The Puerto Rico Smart Meter Case (2012)."

The 2012 smart meter hacking incident in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico was a significant case symbolizing the security vulnerabilities of the smart grid. In this case, smart meters installed by an electric utility company were tampered with and manipulated to intentionally display a lower amount of electricity consumption. As a result, the power company reportedly suffered a huge annual loss of approximately $400 million (about 320 billion yen at the then prevailing exchange rate).

The hacking technique was not limited to mere physical modification, but was sophisticated enough to rewrite the software inside the meter. This resulted in the recording of data that differed from actual consumption, enabling the billing amount to be significantly reduced. Because such modifications require technical knowledge, it is believed that some former employees of the power company and skilled technicians were involved, and they were paid for undertaking the modifications. The scale of the fraud was so great that many residents of the island took advantage of this "backdoor service" and benefited from the illusion of cheap electricity.

This incident was more than just an individual's illegal act; it was a collective power fraud that grew out of the gaps in the system and social pressure. Smart meters were originally intended to be next-generation devices that would enable remote meter reading and demand management and improve the efficiency of the power infrastructure. However, their implementation lacked basic security features such as encryption, authentication, and tamper-resistance, and the advanced nature of the technology ironically became a vulnerability.

After the incident, the FBI launched a full-scale investigation and indicted several parties. Power companies and manufacturers were also required to review their security designs to make them more robust. The incident was not merely a problem in Puerto Rico, but a wake-up call for countries around the world that are adopting smart grids.

How "smart" is the use of "smart" technology? The incident that came to light in Puerto Rico showed that modernization of infrastructure does not necessarily guarantee safety and provided an opportunity to fundamentally rethink how we should deal with technology.