Proof Smart Meters Are Being Used to Spy On Us

Proof Smart Meters Are Being Used to Spy On Us

Stop Smart Meters

Andrew Puhanic, Contributor
Activist Post
If you have ever wondered if your smart meter is being used to spy
on you, well now there is proof that governments and private
organisations are using data collected from smart meters.

Information about power usage, which can be used to identify when a home
is being occupied, is being shared with third parties including
government agencies, private organisations and off-shore data processing
centres.

This unethical breach of privacy was discovered on the website of one of Australia’s largest electricity retailer, Origin Energy.

Electricity customers who sign up for an online
service that provides the account holder with detailed information about
their electricity usage are unwillingly agreeing to share their private
information with third parties.

A 496-word Privacy/Consent policy form explicitly states that customers
who wish to sign up for the service that provides them with information
about their electricity usage, must agree that the following
organisations have access to their private data:

• Government authorities
  
• Electricity installers
  
• Mail houses
  
• Data processing analysts
  
• IT service providers
  
• Smart energy technology providers
  
• Debt collection agencies
  
• Credit reporting agencies
  

A spokesperson for the electricity company (Origin Energy)
responsible for this revelation was recently quoted as saying “the
additional information requested about each household adds to the
richness of the Origin Smart experience” (Source: The Age).


One private organisation that is being given personal information of Origin Energy customers is Tendril,
a self-described consumer engagement application and services provider
and an organisation that believes smart grids can help fight climate
change.

Alarmingly, Tendril’s own website doesn’t explicitly state how it uses
data gathered by its clients and for what purposes the data can and
cannot be used for.

What implication this has for Australian residents is unknown.

There has been an overwhelming opposition to the roll-out and installation of smart meters around the world.

Smart Meter opt-out coalitions are present in almost all major
municipalities that have smart meters present. Unfortunately, in many
municipalities an opt-out is not available.

The
author (Andrew Puhanic) was forced to have a smart meter installed on
his property, with the only notice given about the installation being a
letter informing the ‘month’ that the smart meter would be installed.

The greatest concern with smart meter data being shared with third
parties is the fact that the third-party organisation could easily
identify (over time) a pattern of when you do and do not use
electricity.

This information could fall into the wrong hands and could be used to determine when your home is un-occupied.

In Australia, the erosion of privacy was escalated further by a new
proposal to force Internet and telephone companies to retain customer
records for more than two years. For more information about this
proposal, click here.

Households that are forced to have smart meters installed must be
assured that the information their electricity company collects is not
shared with third parties.

Ultimately, smart meters are designed to collect information about
household electricity usage; and now there is proof that electricity
companies are openly sharing information collected by smart meters.

So what happens when a tyrannical government or criminal has access to your electricity usage records?

Source:-
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/09/proof-smart-meters-are-being-used-to.html