August 27, 2009
ioActive's Smart Grid Exploits
A Seattle-based research firm called ioActive gave a talk at BlackHat this year on Smart Grid virii. I got a chance to see the talk today.
It sheds light on some curious sorts of problems. In reality the 'demo' or 'proof-of-concept' is really just showing that if a mesh network has insecure nodes, the mesh network can fairly rapidly be infected with a worm. What it didn't go into detail about was whether such a worm would be able to effect the grid in a profound way (I define 'profound' to mean shutting people's power off).
The real problem with the electric power industry and so-called Intelligent Electronic Devices is really that electrical engineers have run the show. It's sort of natural, really -- metering and relaying rely on electrical engineering prowess. Now, of course, we're building these things into big networks with communications links. Until now, the smart computer engineer/computer science people at IED companies have been put to work doing things like programming board support packs (fairly nontrivial work, as you have to know computer architecture and be willing to spend days or weeks reading processor manuals and writing assembly).
Fortunately this is all changing. At some companies, anyway. My company happens to have quite a few CISSPs doing software development and system architecture. I can only hope that other companies follow suit and churn out more secure products...
Post a comment
Further back...
ArchivesFriends and Family
Search
Previous Trips...
-
Hiking Mount Whitney, 2007 
Spring Break in West Virginia, 2005
New Year's in Paris, 2003-2004
Coming to America, 2003
Protesting in Berlin, 2003
Prague Bier-Tour, 2002
Dresden, 2002
Recent Reading
![]()
Stealing the Network
I first bumped into the Stealing the Network series when reading the exploits of Joe Grand, one of the book's many hacker authors.
The 'Stealing the ...' series of books follows a rather disparate group of computer hackers as they help a former NSA spook (many of them unwittingly) gather the money he needs to retire.
The stories themselves are not fantastic fiction. The writing is uneven and choppy, the characters are stereotypical and not very well thought-out. What is fascinating about this book series is the technical accuracy of the exploits (at some points *too* accurate, with screen shots and step-by-step instructions).
It's a great series to read if you're a system administrator, or just getting into the wonderful field of computer security.
Rated 
by reid
on March 06, 2011
by reid
on March 06, 2011
![]()
Close to the Machine
Ellen Ullman is one of those authors that somehow avoided my radar. Until now...
Close to the Machine is less a book than a collection of loosely related personal anecdotes from Ellen's time as a very rare thing -- a successful female bisexual independent computer programming consultant.
In the course of her work and relationship life, she learns hard lessons about programming, running a business, being lonely, and loving the wrong people. I found it particularly poignant being a crypto-nerd with difficult times in relationships and a more-or-less NDA'd, secret work life.
This book is a must-read for anyone into running their own business, programming, or anyone dating a person that is a business-a-holic or programmer.
Rated 
by reid
on November 23, 2009
by reid
on November 23, 2009
![]()
The Long Trip Home
I had the joy of dining with the author in Florida. We went to a little Brazilian BBQ where he spoke with our waitstaff in (what I can only assume was) flawless Portugese.
Brian Wyllie spent 1969-1971 living in Brazil working for the Peace Corps. His recent book outlines his trip back to the United States via Bolivia, Peru, and the Carribean chain, by way of bus, train, and sailboat. The format comes spattered with observations from the modern day, and makes me think, "this must be what John McPhee's journal looks like."
The trip sounded like a fantastic one, but I was left wanting more detail...where did the gun (being snuck through customs in a variety of places, no doubt) come from? And how did Geneve's hair smell? Alas, we'll have to wait for another book to find the answers.
Rated by reid
on April 16, 2009
by reid
on April 16, 2009