Security Considerations in AMR AMI - Article
Security Considerations in AMR AMI - Article
Security Considerations in AMR AMI - Article
Balagopal Mathoor
Kalki Communication Technologies Ltd
[email protected]
Most utilities across the world are now in
their way towards smart grid by installing smart
meters and AMR/AMI in power generation,
transmission and distribution sectors for reasons
such as Aggregate Technical and Commercial loss
reduction, reduction of greenhouse gas emission
and aligning to governmental energy policies. In
this venture most utilities also try to address latest
smart grid functions such as Demand side
management including Home area network,
Remote Connect/ Disconnect and firmware
Problem overview :
Security Considerations
unauthorized person.
Event logging and reporting: Any abnormal
activity or activity worth attention is called and
event and shall be recorded along with time stamp
and any other related information. The event log
can be thus used as an offline tool for audit trail or
diagnosis. Apart from logging, Events can be
prioritized and critical events can be configured
for real time reporting via the telemetry protocol
or SMS or email to the concerned authority.
An illustration of security related event log inside
meter is shown in figure 2.
Time-stamp
Source
Event description
01/01/11
02:00 PM
Programing
client
Logged in
01/01/11
02:00 PM
Programing
client
Billing/MD Reset
01/01/11
12:01 AM
Programing
client
Logged out
05/01/11
10:00 PM
05/01/11
10:10 PM
05/01/11
10:20 PM
05/01/11
10:22 PM
Self
Communication protocol:
All the above security consideration boils down to
the choice of communication protocol. This
section explains the AMR/AMI security aspects in
DLMS/ COSEM (IEC 62056), one of the most
popularly followed metering communication
protocol.
Role based access: DLMS/COSEM allows
modeling meter or data concentrator with multiple
logical devices each supporting multiple client
associations. Thus data can be organized in
multiple logical device as per role based access
requirements of the project. Within a logical
device, access rights can be further configured to
Conclusion
It is clear that the key for secure AMR/AMI is the
selection of the right protocol, adapting secure
user practices at utility back office and imparting
physical security and activity logs in all
components. We recommend DLMS/COSEM
protocol as secure, scalable and interoperable
metering
protocol.
The
flexibility
of
DLMS/COSEM also enable implementer to
achieve security without having to sacrifice
performance or cost.