Securing Sustainable Energy Trading: An RSA-Encrypted IoT Solution for Smart Meter Data Transmission

Smart grids have been replacing conventional energy grids in recent years and are deemed the next generation of today’s power infrastructure distribution. However, due to the digitization of the energy grid framework, smart grids are prone to multiple cyber threats such as phishing attacks and data breaches. The number of cyberattacks against smart meters is estimated to have risen from 6,000 to 7,900 by 2023 and is expected to rise further in the coming years. These attacks allow attackers to manipulate access to the smart meter, thus leaking sensitive information. This paper proposes a Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) encryption algorithm to securely encrypt the data of the telemetry received, which is then sent to the servers. The received data is displayed to the user via an application. The need to maintain the integrity of the financial transactions in energy trading points to the importance of cyber security. This plays a major role in the construction of a sustainable community which is empowered with energy trading. Implementation of a secure algorithm like RSA enhances the security and resilience of the transactions.