Smart grids seem a great solution for helping users to save money and energy. However, some experts are beginning to ponder the questions how much smart grids undermine users’ privacy and how anonymous and safe this data being delivered via smart grids. In General, what users do in their own homes is basically their own business, and not the business of anyone else. But, smart grids tech which uses digital means to control appliances at users’ homes, may leak a lot of personal information of users and their living habits of every day by collecting granular data about users’ daily consumption of power. For example, “the energy fluctuations of home appliances are so unique that a smart grid can tell the make and model of a user’s refrigerator.” Maybe it seems not a big deal for some users, but it’s easy to extrapolate from there to more “Orwellian possibilities”. Smart grids are becoming the new battlefield of privacy issue.

A recently released report from the Future of Privacy Foundation states that “The modernization of the grid will increase the level of personal information detail available as well as the instances of collection, use and disclosure of personal information”. This report points out although modernized approaches are important and necessary to save energy consumption; smart grid technology may cause the data breaches of users’ personal information. And this report also asserts the following points:

“The infrastructure that will support the future Smart Grid will be capable of informing consumers of their day-to-day energy use, even at the appliance level. While this is beneficial and supports valuable efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and reduce consumers’ energy bills, it introduces the possibility of collecting detailed information on individual energy consumption use and patterns within the most private of places – our homes.”

“We must take great care not to sacrifice consumer privacy amidst an atmosphere of unbridled enthusiasm for electricity reform. Information proliferation, lax controls and insufficient oversight of this information could lead to unprecedented invasions of consumer privacy.”

Another report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology states similar points:

“Distributed energy resources and smart meters will reveal information about residential consumers and activities within the house.”

This report by NIST also addressed the cyber security aspects of the smart grid:

“A lack of formal privacy policies, standards or procedures about information gathered and collected by entities involved in the smart grid.”

Theses report point out “Smart Grid Raises Security Concerns” and “Smart Grid could Undermine User Privacy” And researches also worried about smart grids and their communications networks are vulnerable to a variety of attacks.  The below are the example about the personal information which utilities and partner companies could get from more granular power consumption.

1. Law enforcement officials might use this information to against users or monitor what uses do.
2. Landlords might be interested in what’s going on in their properties.
3. Criminals and Hackers might try to fake the power usage, pass the charges to others or install a virus to shut down the smart grid systems.
4. Insurance companies want to get the connection between unhealthy tendencies and the patterns of energy use to raise premiums or to deny coverage.
5. Travel agencies would send you brochures when your family vacations come near.

Now there are two important issues related to smart grid:

1.The privacy issue:

How to prevent the data leak of user privacy from using smart grids?

2.   The insecurity of the smart grid systems:

How to prevent hackers or other unauthorized parties from getting personal information smart via smart grid systems?

Policy Challenges and Solutions

1.Who has access to your data?

2. How is your data managed? ” The European Union’s Data Directive has been cited as a good model and consists of the following core principles: [1] data processed fairly and lawfully, [2] sought or collected for specified purposes, and analyzed only for those purposes, [3] merely adequate and not excessive for the purposes motivating its collection, [4] kept accurate, and [5] kept in a form allowing for identification for no longer than necessary.”

3. How is your data protected?

4. What happens if your data is breached:

In my opinion, government should put more effort on smart grids and make laws to regulate the information from smart grids.

Image Sources:

http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/landing_page

Although Google claims to protect users’ health information and addresses the HIPAA concerns in a blog post. Privacy concern issues about Google Health still exist , including how Google Health uses and shares your information, advertising to physicians and privacy concerns, information Security issue of online application. In my opinion, using free web-based service is a kind of trade-off. Users get the free online service  by providing their personal information, but users also take the risk of their personal information. Although Google need to address more on privacy concern issues, maybe it’s the price users need to pay.