Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/1206576
nal activity. As a result of this attack, many sites - including Reddit, Twitter, Amazon, Net ix and the BBC - became inacces- sible to visitors. Another large attack took place over •• days in spring -•€, where over ‚--,--- connected devices, mostly in Brazil, were used to target a company in the entertainment industry, according to the com- pany's security consultant. Whenever a consumer is look- ing to buy a connected device, it is important to purchase from a reputable manufacturer to be assured that it will include neces- sary measures to protect personal information. Any manufacturer should ensure that data security is taken incredibly seriously. Data that is collected should be used only to perform the necessary functions and when it needs to be stored, it should be encrypted and secured, whether locally or in the cloud. When commu- nication happens between the local device and the cloud, all tra† c should be encrypted to provide the highest security for homeowners, utilising industry standard protocols such as SSL over a TLS connection, as well as HTTPS. Regulation & policy To a homeowner and consumer, security should be transpar- ent and taken care of by the manufacturer adhering to best practices and legislation. In Oc- tober -•Ž, the UK government published a Code of Practice for Internet of Things Security, alongside accompanying guid- ance, to help industry imple- ment good security practices for consumer IoT. However, a" er continued shortcomings, the government is now con- sidering mandatory measures, consulting in -•€ around three options. These are: improving basic cybersecurity features by giving each device a unique password rather than a univer- sal factory default setting; the manufacturer providing a public point of contact in order that security researchers and others are able to report vulnerabil- ity issues; and manufacturers explicitly stating the minimum length of time for which the product will receive security updates. We should see concrete proposals begin to emerge in - -. The US state of California is one step ahead on this, bringing into force a new bill in January - - aimed at regulating the security of IoT devices. Looking to the future As technology progresses, the concept of the 'smarthome' has become more frequently discussed when imagining the future development of Smart Cities. However, as this concept begins to grow here in the UK, it is important to consider what implications this could mean in terms of security, and how our current systems would need to be upgraded in order to deliver a fully functioning Smart City. For example, if every home became part of a smart network, this could provide a hacker with a vast number of devices that could be used to attack a network. If a whole city was running oš the same network, there are a number of other ways that a hacker could look to cause disruption. This ranges from sophisticated cyber-attacks to the infrastructure of smart cities, such as the National Grid and tra† c light systems, as well as system lockdown threats, tampering with com- munications between smaller consumer devices, and personal consumer data being accessed by unauthorised people. With the looming thread of state-run cybersecurity attacks, it is now more important than ever to build security into the founda- tion of our connected future. While fully functioning Smart Cities are a long way oš , we are certainly heading in the right direction. By starting in people's homes and building this technology upwards into the infrastructure of the grid, Smart Cities will not only allow the population to be serviced more easily but will contribute to a greener and more sustain- able future. NETWORK / 25 / FEBRUARY 2020 I N D U S T RY I N S I G H T Driving better reliability in a changing industry DIGITALISATION Chris Watts, director, regulatory affairs, S&C Electric Company Chris Watts discusses the challenge of increasing reliability in an environment of increasing uncertainty. The 2020s will be a period of unprecedented change for electricity distribution network operators (DNOs) as the drivers of digitalisation, decentralisation, and decar- bonisation place increasing demands on the grid and the DNOs transition to becoming distribution system opera- tors. Customers will place increasing reliance on digital devices and expect their power source to never be interrupted, while low- carbon technologies such as distributed generation and electric vehicles will grow rapidly at the grid's edge. RIIO-ED2 is a key opportunity to address these challenges and make the most of the opportunities presented from distributed resources providing services back to the networks. The industry's proposals must be ambitious to address the emerging electrifi cation of transport and future electrifi cation of heat, while improving reliability of increasingly complex networks with demand, generation, and two-way power fl ows. The reliability and stability of distribution networks are increasingly important key outcomes for customers and serve as a foundation for these other develop- ments. Addressing customer interruptions and customers minutes lost is not enough. There must be a focus on short interruptions that last less than 3 minutes. Even an interruption of a few seconds can disrupt customers' devices and manufacturing processes, and it could trip off distributed generation for several minutes or more. Incentives must include more granular measures of reliability, such as the Customers Experiencing Multiple Interruptions or Customers Experiencing Long Interruption Duration indices, providing a driver for the DNOs to make important investments in reliability at the grid's edge.