Featured in Fruits of our labour – 03-2021

The SolarWinds of change

Solar inverters have gotten smarter. The recent hacking of U.S. government agencies via software provided by SolarWinds has triggered discussion about whether inverters, with all their added functionality, could pose a serious cybersecurity threat to solar PV projects. David Wagman, senior editor at pv magazine USA, looks at the efforts that are underway to stay one step ahead of potential hackers.

By

David Wagman

09 Mar 2021

Any device connected to the internet has a level of vulnerability to hacking, but a number of hardware and software defenses are available. | Image: NREL

Alan Mantooth figures that making a $500 fix to a $10,000 piece of equipment could better safeguard the grid from a potentially devastating cyberattack that could be directed at – or even launched by – a solar power plant. Such an attack on the bulk power system is possible, if unlikely, at least for …

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