Security Engineering, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 14Monitoring and Metering

Management is that for which there is no algorithm. Where there is an algorithm, it's administration.

– ROGER NEEDHAM

The market is not an invention of capitalism. It has existed for centuries. It is an invention of civilization.

– MIKHAIL GORBACHEV

14.1 Introduction

In addition to the burglar alarms we discussed in the last chapter, your home will likely have a number of other monitoring devices: utility meters, baby monitors, smoke detectors, exercise equipment, health trackers and connected appliances. You may also buy value online for some metering systems, from a prepayment utility meter in your home through prepaid postage labels. An increasing number of systems are concerned with monitoring and metering human activities and indeed the natural environment too. They go back a long way. James Watt, the steam engine pioneer, didn't just sell engines; he licensed his patents using a sealed counter that measured the number of revolutions an engine had made. His inspectors read these from time to time and billed the customer for royalties.

Electronic systems that use cryptography and tamper-resistance have displaced most of the older mechanical systems and opened up all sorts of new applications. Ticketing is huge, from transport tickets through sports events to coupons; my case study for ticketing is the prepayment meters used for gas and electricity. Then I'll turn to vehicle systems. The most familiar of these may be taxi meters, but ...