Solar quotes has received inquiries about a Reuters history that was published last week, in which the discovery of communication devices without papers in Chinese solar changes and batteries can be found in the USA. Is it something for Australian solar owners that can worry about?
It was interesting to see how this story was repeated on the Internet with increasingly hectic headlines, such as:
“Unveiled: China secretly installed Kill switches in solar collectors that were sold in the west – whereby Beijing plunges its enemies into the dark in the event of a second World War.”
This is quite a headline – almost long enough to be a story for yourself and an interesting variation of the original, namely:
“Rogue Communication devices in Chinese solar energy interim judges”
What is it about?
The Reuters reporting regulations for communication devices that are not listed in product documents were found in some Chinese solar changes and batteries by US experts.
“The villain components offer additional, undocumented communication channels with which firewalls can handle away from a distance, with potentially catastrophic consequences, the two people said,” the report said.
In such a scenario, solar inverters could possibly be switched off from a distance or their settings could be changed. It is not a big threat if this happens with a small number of units, but electricity grids are finely coordinated animals and such an action that can destabilize power grids, damage the energy infrastructure and trigger widespread power failures.
However, the report lacks some really important information:
- Who these “experts” who supposedly found the devices.
- Like many inverters/batteries, these alleged Rogue communication devices have found.
- Whether this was only associated with applications in the utility in the area of benefits.
- The manufacturers involved.
The US government has not publicly recognized the alleged discoveries. So there is nothing concrete, the sources are anonymous and the claims are vaguely.
This does not mean that it didn’t happen, but there is also a bigger picture. Let us assume that these allegations came from state sources. There are all kinds of reasons why US energy assistants are currently working apart from the continuing controversial nature of the relationship between the two countries near Chinese technology (especially renewable energies).
It is not a secret US President Donald Trump, who generally has an interesting view of the truth, more fossil fuels and more local production. He will do anything to enable this regardless of the consequences or affect them on the way.
In terms of production, it is not only foreign companies that he strives for, but also local companies that are manufactured abroad – and not necessarily only in China. An example of the latter is a recent conversation that he conducted with Apple Tim Cook’s CEO.
“I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” said Trump. “I said to him: ‘My friend, I treated you very well. You come here with $ 500 billion, but now I hear that you can build all over India.’ I don’t want you to build in India. “
Nice little company that you have there, Tim, is a real shame when something has happened.
Home Solar Security
The Reuters report is a bit of a non-burger, as is currently the case. But something good that comes from this are owners of the Australian solar power system who are interested in problems in connection with cyber security (or unfortunately in panic in some cases).
Here are a few related articles from the solar quotes blog that is worth taking a look at it:
While state -sponsored bad actors and companies that are Kowt’s governments are a real risk of solar safety, non -state criminal organizations and the bored children on the entire street who have a little technically nous are also a threat. It is not only “villain communication devices”, but also only old safety errors that result from human failure. And systems are not patched with the corrections – this is not limited to solar equipment from China.
Is the firmware of your inverter/battery connected to the Internet up to date? It is worth checking the user interface of your device or with your installer, since you often also have access to troubleshooting.
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