How your solar rooftop became a national security issue

The article discusses emerging national security concerns related to residential solar rooftop systems, focusing on vulnerabilities in solar inverters—devices that convert solar energy into usable electricity and connect homes to the power grid. James Showalter, CEO of EG4, highlights a hypothetical but technically possible scenario where an attacker physically accesses a homeowner’s Wi-Fi network and compromises the solar inverter, potentially taking control of the home’s energy system. Although Showalter considers such an attack unlikely, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently disclosed significant security flaws in EG4’s solar inverters. These vulnerabilities include unencrypted communications, lack of firmware integrity checks, and weak authentication, which could allow attackers on the same network to intercept data, install malicious software, or seize control of the inverter. The article underscores that modern solar inverters have evolved from simple power converters into complex, interconnected devices integral to home energy management and grid interaction. With the rapid growth of residential solar installations in the U.S. driven by