Smart Meter Data: Privacy and Cybersecurity

Murrill, Brandon J. ; Liu, Edward, C. ; Thompson, Richard M., II

Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.

关键词: Computer crimes;    Technology;    Criminal justice;    Right of privacy;   

RP-ID  :  R42338
RP-ID  :  R42338_2012Feb03

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Fueled by stimulus funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), electric utilities have accelerated their deployment of smart meters to millions of homes across the United States with help from the Department of Energy's Smart Grid Investment Grant program. As the meters multiply, so do issues concerning the privacy and security of the data collected by the new technology. Smart meters must record near-real time data on consumer electricity usage and transmit the data to utilities over great distances via communications networks that serve the smart grid. Detailed electricity usage data offers a window into the lives of people inside of a home by revealing what individual appliances they are using, and the transmission of the data potentially subjects this information to interception or theft by unauthorized third parties or hackers. Unforeseen consequences under federal law may result from the installation of smart meters and the communications technologies that accompany them. This report examines federal privacy and cybersecurity laws that may apply to consumer data collected by residential smart meters.