The role of IoT in Meter Security

 What does every household have in common irrespective of geography? 

Utility meters! Yes, every household has an electric meter and in most developed countries, individual households also have gas and water meters to regulate the flow of consumption of these resources. 

Meters, therefore, become the primary target for culprits trying to steal from utility service providers. Utility distribution companies have discovered that they cannot be 100% safe from meter theft and tampering by just applying ordinary plastic security seals. Many utility meters in India have upgraded to using superior, high-security seals like the Roto Seal. As thieves have become smarter, they have come up with innovative ways of tampering ordinary security seals and hacking smart meters. Globally, utility companies are investing heavily in bringing the best solutions to save revenue and make meters more secure. According to Smart Energy International 5-2018, global losses due to meter tampering are estimated to be US$ 96 billion annually, and a significant portion of this occurs in developing countries with weak legal systems. This data is just for energy theft and gets only bigger with the inclusion of other industries.

The continuous need for better security solutions has brought research and development teams to explore the Internet of Things (IoT) as a means to combat meter theft and tampering. IoT allows any physical object equipped with a chip and communication capabilities to now easily talk to other software and systems. Smart meters that are already present in the market were primarily focused and designed to provide precise data and an opportunity for consumers to have control over their usage. Smart meters can now provide an upgraded level of security along with precise data by being IoT enabled. For digital or analog meters, the security seal itself can be made smart or intelligent by giving it an active ID and connecting it to the Internet via a software platform.

Sepio Products Private Limited, a leading manufacturer of tamper-evident security seals has recently innovated to launch IoT seals or smart seals for electric, gas, and water meters. Sepio has also upgraded its patented Roto seals with the help of a serialized or unique QR code which can be scanned by a mobile application. Upon scanning, the seal can be declared as genuine or fake and if it is found to be a fake or duplicate seal, it can send an alert to the relevant authorities to initiate the investigation process and streamlines operations directed at identifying culprits and compiling data to support claims. 

Sepio’s Roto E seal can also incorporate an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip, which can communicate with the RFID reader about the tamper status of the plastic security seal. Enabling smart meters with RFID smart seals is a cutting-edge new technology that is being piloted by leading utility service providers in India. What is a smart Roto seal and how does it work? A smart seal has a chip with a tamper loop inbuilt. The chip talks to the RFID reader that is on the smart meter. When the seal is tampered with or cut, the smart seal sends a signal to the meter in real-time indicating that its status has been altered. The inbuilt communication hardware in the smart meter then sends an instant message to the relevant authorities. This revolutionary technology has multiple benefits including real-time alerts, which can play a major role in reducing meter theft and tampering. 

The benefits of a smart seal are many and are summarized below: -

Authentication: The capability to check/ensure the identity of any communicating device/object/ in the SG. For instance, the energy provider needs to authenticate each smart meter, in order to bill the corresponding user.

• Data Integrity: Ensures that (received) data were not modified in an unauthorized way. For instance, smart

meters need to ensure the integrity of a software update, in addition to source origin.

• Confidentiality: Ensures that data (stored or transmitted) is accessible only to the intended recipients. For instance, end-users’ consumption needs to be known by the SG’s operator and the energy provider only.

• User’s Privacy: Guarantees that any data related to the user (energy consumer end

-user) – brut, inferred, or computed data-could not be obtained without its explicit approval, and will be used only for the intended

purposes. For instance, energy consumption data used for billing purpose couldn’t be used for other purposes

• Authorization and Control Access: Guarantees that an authenticated object/person, is authorized to accomplish

some tasks, or has been granted the necessary rights to access some resources. For Instance, an on the field agent needs authorization and access control rights, to perform manual configuration on a smart meter

Security seal authentication: utilities can now confirm the identity of the tamper-evident seal and tell if the seal is genuine or a fake from the grey market. For example, during the routine monthly meter reading before billing, the software can scan and confirm if the seal is a counterfeit or not. It also prevents an unauthorized person from impersonating as the meter reader since only authorized software applications can be used to read the smart code on the tamper-evident security seal. 

• Data Integrity: A smart seal ensures that the data is not modified in any way or an unauthorized person cannot access the data due to the software security protocols. Every meter can now be digitally secured with updates on the software regarding tamper attempts or physical damage.

• Confidentiality: IoT seals confirm that data (stored or transmitted) is accessible only to the intended recipients. For instance, an end-users’ information as per the meter will only be accessible during scans by authorized personnel.

• Authorization and Control Access: Meter and seal management become transparent and brings accountability to the entire process of meter management. Meter management is now digital and access can be regulated as required by the utility service provider. 

There are many more advantages to using IoT for securing utility meters in comparison to traditional plastic security seals. IoT is at an inflection point and will become common use in all meter management solutions to secure meters with smart seals. To know how smart meter seals can help you, connect with Sepio at sales@sepioproducts.com.