Hackers Are Learning Things Texas Power Companies Don’t Want You To Know
Dallas hacker, Hash is trying to get to the bottom of who was protected from the ERCOT power outage during Texas polar votex, a disaster that killed over 100 people. Texas power companies have declined to reveal to the public who was protected from the outages. With the help of Hash, that information may not be too far from reach.
The hacker has thus far noticed that smart meters on the outside of homes and businesses that monitor electricity consumption also broadcast information that can be used to determine who exactly was protected from the outage.
He shared a video on YouTube that delves into his findings about Smart Meters. He is able to determine when a place last suffered a power outage, in a blanket area of Dallas, based on how long the meters have been running. The video provides a visual using Google GPS coordinates. Some of the places on his map show that they have been running a matter of days, some of them several years.
Hash began questioning the system when he experienced first hand losing power during the winter storm. He told the Daily Dot, “I seriously wondered whether it was going to be Armageddon around here as we froze inside my house.” He noticed one of the refusals to dilvulge information to the public about the outage and decided to get to the bottom of it himself. He has collected a tremendous amount of information and also encourages other ethical hackers to continue to share their findings as well.
What does information like this mean to the general population, and why has it been kept a secret? What happened when we get to the bottom of it?