Researchers find out that the power grid can be hacked through home air conditioners

Researchers at Kaspersky Lab and Exigent Systems have identified a new modality that could be used by hackers to take down the power grid: remotely manipulating home and office air conditioners to create a surge. Such attacks could target the devices that some utility companies install on air conditioners to be able to remotely turn them off, via radio frequencies, when the demand for power is high. The research show that that the systems examined don’t use encryption and authentication methods to prevent unauthorised parties to communicate with these devices; this makes the devices suitable targets for hackers that could manipulate them to cause disturbances and imbalances in the power grid. More details on Wired.