/ Source: The Associated Press
GET SMART: Security researchers are worried about a potential vulnerability in upgraded meters that enable "smart" grids that utilities are building to make more efficient use of power.
THE HACK: At a hackers convention in Las Vegas, security consultant Mike Davis showed how a computer worm could hop between certain meters. That could let an outsider turn off power to a house or a neighborhood, or even a wider swath. It takes advantage of a feature in the new meters that lets a utility remotely disconnect people's power for failure to pay their bills.
THE CAVEAT: The utility industry says it's taking security very seriously. Davis' research itself was commissioned by a power company.