Smart Meters Come to Downtown Jacksonville

[stjr]

I know I shouldn't be asking this question, but I do so on behalf of all those "other" parking users who try to circumvent the rules!    Can you still "feed the meters" when you charge?  Or, will it reject a reload on the same credit card?  Just how smart are these things getting?  Will they require you to punch in your plate number next?

[Charles Hunter]

How long do the solar panels keep the meter running with several days of cloudy weather?  Are they sensitive enough to use to the reduced light available on cloudy days?

[5PointsGuy]

How long do the solar panels keep the meter running with several days of cloudy weather?  Are they sensitive enough to use to the reduced light available on cloudy days?

Very good question. Anyone know the answer? I assume that the panels can get energy from less concentrated light. LCD screens don't take up that much energy and the only time the meter would be really turning up the power would be when its validating a credit card, which shouldn't be all that often. So I would think it could probably handle a couple of days of low light.

[Jason]

They probably use miniscule amounts of power that a solar panel of that size can more than handle.  Also, small amounts of power can be derived from the phone line attached to it 9if there is one).  Maybe even enough to power it completely.  If its cellular (probably is because its a retrofit) the solar panel probably gives it the extra power to send the credit validation signal.

[Lunican]

A small battery can probably run it for a year without any sunlight.

[Steve]

My guess is that is one of the aspects that they are testing in the pilot, but the energy use on these things is I'm sure VERY small.

[mtraininjax]

These devices can be hacked, is your personal data worth it?

Parking Meters: The Next Big Hack?
Security researcher prepares to outline vulnerabilities at upcoming Black Hat conference Jun 22, 2009 | 04:35 PM

By Tim Wilson
DarkReading

There are a lot of ways for your identity stolen to be stolen. Until last week, however, parking legally wasn't one that had occurred to most of us.

Last week, security researcher Joe Grand offered a preview of his upcoming presentation at the Black Hat USA conference, which will take place in Las Vegas next month. The subject of Grand's presentation: parking meters.

Grand says that so-called "smart" parking meters -- which are computerized, often networked, and can accept credit cards -- could be vulnerable to hacking. Attackers could breach the meters to steal credit card data or to gain access to debit cards that could be reset or reloaded, he warns.

In some cities, the meters are connected by wireless or infrared systems that could be hacked to give free parking or expire another driver's spot, Grand says.

Grand didn't give away all of the details of his presentation during the preview, but he said it's likely that others are exploring potential vulnerabilities in the networked meters.

[Steve]

I was wondering what negative you would come up with on this mtrain.  It was two days, and I saw nothing for you, and I was a little worried about you.  Glad to know you're still doing well.

Now, let's just go back to 1901, and we won't have to worry about hacking!

[mtraininjax]

I was wondering what negative you would come up with on this mtrain.  It was two days, and I saw nothing for you, and I was a little worried about you.  Glad to know you're still doing well.

Now, let's just go back to 1901, and we won't have to worry about hacking!

Steve, just keeping it real. Some of us live in the real world, you and the others who doubt the hackers, can deny it all you want, just try getting a loan after using one of these things....

No one ever stole your identity from a coin-fed meter.

[Lunican]

These meters also accept coins.

[urbanlibertarian]

Can it read my fingerprint off the coin and steal my identity?

Can it take my photograph and steal my soul?

[Steve]

Steve, just keeping it real. Some of us live in the real world, you and the others who doubt the hackers, can deny it all you want, just try getting a loan after using one of these things....

No one ever stole your identity from a coin-fed meter.

I don't doubt the world of hacking - I work in IT for an eCommerce company, so I do have an Idea what they are capable of.  Because of this, my personal feeling is that the best way to avoid hackers is to move into a padded room, with no communication to the outside world.

[mtraininjax]

Because of this, my personal feeling is that the best way to avoid hackers is to move into a padded room, with no communication to the outside world.

Now that is great sarcasm!

Again, Steve, think of how the devices all communicate to the Yates Building. Wireless perhaps? Thanks for the new meters, I'll stick with coins.

[Charles Hunter]

Psst, shoud we tell mtrain that the GPS chips in his cell phone and car are reporting his exact location to .... well, I've said too much already ...  

[mtraininjax]

Charles - I'm betting I can go through your trash, at your curb, which is legal, and then sell your information, ruining your eternal life and you would never know about it, until you tried to next get credit. If you shred data, fine, I can pay Springfield's finest to seperate and put the data back together, just like the 3rd world countries do now with much of the US export of paper.

Its fine to know where I am, but what am I doing should be of more concern.