Can IoT development in smart utilities go hand in hand with cybersecurity?

We are seeing rapid digital transformation happening across the energy and utilities industry. Vast resources are being invested in smart initiatives to transform the sector, making it fit for purpose to support a more sustainable future.

National Grid has said that it plans to spend almost £30 billion upgrading the UK’s transmission systems over the next four years, but the government will need to encourage the utility companies to invest in grid upgrades using smart technologies and building the infrastructure to support them. This means putting both initiatives and funding in place – one without the other will not work.

While in the US, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act secures investment of at least $80 billion for energy and utilities. Funds have been allocated for upgrading the country’s grid infrastructure in a move to facilitate the expansion of renewables and clean tech solutions and making it more resilient to extreme climate events.

But evolving decades-old systems into highly connected infrastructures with millions of IoT devices and endpoints increases the risks. Energy services are a key component of a country’s critical infrastructure, and the growth of communications networks risks making utilities increasingly vulnerable to attack. Ensuring the network is resilient to attacks is a key consideration.

With smart technology comes opportunities

Wi-SUN Alliance’s inaugural ‘state of the nation’ IoT report looking at attitudes and perspectives on the technology was published five years ago when there were fewer projects, implementations and clear business benefits. Fast forward to 2022 and we published a second study – Journey to IoT Maturity – to compare attitudes and adoption patterns of IoT users in smart cities and utilities.

It’s clear that IoT is a bigger priority than ever, with more than 90% of respondents saying they need to invest in the technology to remain competitive. The consensus is that IoT can help them to become more agile to meet volatile operating conditions, which is a key driver for adoption.

Early adopters are gaining confidence as smart solutions and devices mature and from digital transformation projects that offer quick wins. Organisations are building on early successes and evolving towards more ambitious strategies.

Roll out plans have also evolved in the last five years, with the most common use cases around security and surveillance. We also saw an increase in those planning to deploy IoT for distribution automation, and for advanced meter infrastructure. There is also lots of potential for traffic management and parking, smart parking, traffic lights/controls, and electric vehicle charging.

Evolving security and privacy concerns

As adopters become more comfortable with the technology, security and data privacy challenges, which might have given them pause for thought just five years ago, are now better understood. Those ranking security as one of their top three challenges fell by more than half in 2022.

IoT adopters are still eager to ensure their systems are secure of course. Our latest study shows a slight rise in the proportion of respondents demanding proven security with multi-layer protection and continuous monitoring when considering smart solutions.

They might be more relaxed about the security challenges thanks to protection like device identity certificates, but they also understand its importance more than ever and demand secure implementations from device vendors.

Any new device connected to a smart grid could present an opportunity for would-be attackers. If not ‘secure by design’ and properly managed, the roll-out of smart meters, for example, can increase the risks opening up new attack vectors that can be used to launch a cyberattack. Threat actors can take advantage of vulnerabilities such as inadequately secure communications protocols in smart metering or distribution automation systems.

Security by design

With the energy sector in particular facing a growing number of threats and with energy security a high priority due to geo-political turmoil putting energy supplies at risk, the spotlight is firmly on the need to protect our energy infrastructure and the smart networks it relies on.

Energy security is one of the most important issues relating to IoT technology development over the next year, according to a poll we conducted among senior professionals at utility companies this year. But this needs to happen alongside government funding and initiatives to help drive smart utilities, according to these same professionals.

For smart utilities to grow and prosper, we must have the right technology is in place that ensures the highest levels of energy security and protection from threats.

An important part of smart utilities is having a secure and resilient network communications infrastructure. Mesh networking topologies, along with hybrid networks (combining both mesh and star networks) are increasingly favoured among IT decision makers, according to our IoT report.

Open standards are another critical enabler of innovation in a smart utilities’ context. Networks built with open standards can be relied upon as secure as IEEE and IETF data encryption standards and certificate-based device authentication greatly reduce communications network vulnerabilities and minimise the risk of data theft and system sabotage.

Those able to harness the potential of IoT securely and confidently to drive value and success will be the winners in the race to a smarter, safer and more resilient energy industry.