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#smartmeter#teardown#anti-tamper

Inside a smart meter, and the REAL problem with them.

bigclivedotcom

1.1M subscribers • 9 videos on Hallway

YouTube
  • Recommended by 1 person: 1 on Hacker News.
  • Presented by Big Clive

Intermediate. Assumes working knowledge.

1.6M views8 years ago1 recommendation

HardwareSecurityElectronicsEmbedded systemsWeb and application security

Big Clive tears down a wireless smart meter to examine its internal electronics, GPRS module, and physical anti-tampering mechanisms.

A look at the insides of a modern smart meter with wireless modem. This meter was found amongst a pile of fly-tipped building materials. The company named on it was contacted but failed to respond, so that means we can take it to bits. I've covered the serial number as I usually do with shady things, to avoid the wrath of angry midgets. While I'm inside I also investigate the conspiracy theories about:- Government spy microphones. (Like Alexa for instance.) Chemtrail brain control chemicals. Spy cameras. Brain irradiating 5G death waves. The ability of the meter to be programmed to read apparent power and apply peak demand pricing. If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- bigclive.com/coffee.htm This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's advertising algorithms allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.

Why it's here

1 person recommends this

What people say. Recommended for its fascinating exploration of how unattended hardware devices protect themselves from physical tampering.

jon-woodon Hacker News • Recommends

On “Bypassing ESP32 Encrypted Secure Boot”

> You probably shouldn't leave a sensitive device unattended anyway I find this area fascinating in terms of how you protect devices that are both sensitive, and need to be left unattended in someone else's possession. One of the best explorations I've seen of this is Big Clive's tear down of a smart meter. The thing is absolutely full of anti-tampering measures, including several switches that will cut off the power supply if the casing is removed, but most interestingly to me the cellular modem being connected to a big capacitor designed to give it just enough power to send out a last cry for help even if the entire radio module is pulled off the meter. link to this video
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bayindirhon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Millions of smart meters will brick it when 2G and 3G turns off”

The one I saw used BT4.2 to talk with the meter, and cellular network to push data to cloud (IIRC). The video is at link to this video
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michaelton Hacker News • Mentions

On “What's that touchscreen in my room?”

In the UK, yes. You can see a UK smart meter being taken apart here 1 with the GPRS module shown at around the 2 minute mark. And you can look at meter datasheets 2 which list GPRS WAN as a feature. Smart meters often send a reading every 30 minutes. Some energy companies will then show a breakdown on their website that purports to show how much you're spending on lighting, fridges, appliances and things like that 3. I suspect they use a lot of guesswork to arrive at that breakdown, given the limited input data. Although it's probably fairly easy to recognise certain multi-hour-and-distinctively-large loads, like EV charging and heat pumps. 1 link to this video 2 link 3 link
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