Exclusive: Hacker reveals smart meters are spilling secrets about the Texas snowstorm

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2021-06-25 04:00:07

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Power companies across Texas have refused to disclose which areas of the state were exempt from controlled blackouts after a devastating snowstorm crippled the power grid in February—but one hacker has found that smart meters, the electrical devices on the sides of homes and businesses that monitor energy consumption, are quietly broadcasting data that could be used to determine what infrastructure may have been protected.

In the days following the historic freeze, companies tied to the state’s privately-run grid were met with pressing questions from citizens and lawmakers alike over how it was decided who would and who wouldn’t be plunged into darkness.

A Dallas-based hardware hacker and security researcher known as Hash first noticed one such refusal in early March from Austin Energy, a publicly-owned utility provider in the Texas capital.