WARNINGS ABOUT SMART METERS - ...The Costellos also noted that certain smart meters even have the ability to tell what channel a TV is on. Tanner’s general manager claims his company’s meters are incapable of reading that information and denied further comments due to the ongoing lawsuit. Not only do smart meters pose a privacy risk from power companies and the federal government, hackers have also proven that many smart meters are vulnerable. Just last year, researchers in Germany analyzed several smart meters and discovered that the devices transmitted unencrypted data, allowing the researchers to know whether or not anyone was home. The data even revealed what movie was being watched on TV. The U.S. Department of Energy even warned that information collected by smart meters could be shared with third parties such as insurance companies, creditors and business that could use the information to learn about a homeowners habits. Former CIA Director James Woolsey even called the entire smart grid “stupid” while noting how easily smart meters could be hacked. Smart meters have also raised massive health concerns regarding the amount of electromagnetic radiation being emitted. Several doctors including physician and epidemiologist Sam Milham say the meters give off as much as 100 times the amount of radiation as a cell phone and have been linked to several health issues. Daniel Hirsch, a senior lecturer on nuclear policy at UCSC, says the federal government purposely mislead the public on smart meter safety by conducting biased studies backed by power companies.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 01:52:03 +0000