Quantum computers are coming. And when they do, millions of homes could be vulnerable without even knowing it.
There are over a billion smart meters installed around the world. They sit on walls and in basements, quietly tracking your energy use, sending that data to your provider, and in many cases, controlling whether your lights stay on.
Most people don’t think twice about them. That’s a problem.
The invisible threat
The smart meter rollout was built on efficiency. Low power, minimal memory, small bandwidth. They were designed to be cheap and reliable. Not secure against a future that didn’t exist yet.
But now it does.
Quantum computing will soon break today’s encryption. Not maybe. Not someday. It’s coming, and when it does, everything from your bank to your power grid will need protection.
The US government has already published new encryption standards that are quantum-resistant. The deadline to transition is 2035. Which sounds far away until you remember that most smart meters are supposed to last 10 to 15 years. Many meters going into homes today will already be obsolete by then.
What no one’s saying out loud
These devices can do more than just track your energy use. They can also shut off your power remotely. That means if someone were to compromise them through a future quantum-enabled attack, they could control access to the grid itself.
And many smart meters can’t be fixed with a simple software update. They’ll either need full hardware replacements or extremely complicated firmware updates that most models can’t support. Especially older ones.
Think about that: a device in your home, silently managing your power, built with cryptography that future computers will tear apart like tissue paper.
The industry is stalling
The guidance from cybersecurity agencies is clear. Transition to quantum-safe encryption as soon as possible. But the companies that make smart meters are hoping the supply chain handles most of the work for them.
That means chip vendors and software providers are expected to do the heavy lifting. The rest, upgrading communication modules and metering software is up to the device makers and energy companies.
The longer they wait, the more expensive and chaotic the fix becomes. A rushed transition in the early 2030s could break things at scale.
And when that happens, the fallout won’t be visible until the lights go out.