This talk is a “work in progress” which follows up on my DEF CON 18 talk on Cyberterrorism and the Security of the National Drinking Water Infrastructure to focus on the specifics of such wireless meter reading systems and examination of the potential vulnerabilities they may create in the security of the public water supply infrastructure. More and more of the 150,000 US public water systems are installing wireless meter systems, also called AMR (automatic meter reading) and, in some cases, “smart water” wireless automatic meter reading systems. This implementation is analogous to the “smart grid” networks being installed in electrical power supply networks. These systems allow the automatic reading of water meter data from “drive by” reads or by direct communication to a central location which may be directly connected to the SCADA system running the water system.
John McNabb, an IT Pro by day and IT security researcher by night, served for 13 years as an elected Water Commissioner for a small town in Massachusetts. John has presented talks at DEF CON 18, The Next HOPE, and Phreaknic 14.