AMI security issues and best practices

This report discusses about potential Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) security threats and best practices to mitigate the risks caused by the security threats. Issues specifically addressed in this report are threats, vulnerabilities and risks. Best practices discussed in the report cover various aspects of security such as: data integrity, accountability, availability and confidentiality. This project covers the following areas: First, identify the potential issues affecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information flow in the Advance Metering Infrastructure(AMI). For instance, hacker/terrorist use of malicious software to perform denial of service attacks on AMI. Second, group the potential security issues with respect to the security concepts: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Third, investigate information security best practice(s), which may apply to Advance Metering Infrastructure against the security threats. Best practices such as use of firewalls for perimeter defense, intrusion detection, incident response handing, defense in depth, etc are well known in the information v security area. These best practices are intended to mitigate actions that violate confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information flow. ______________________