Quick take: Last December's cybersecurity warning was about gear from Schneider's Telvent subsidiary. The one you'll read below is about gear from Siemen's RuggedCom subsidiary. It illustrates at least two important trends. First, attacks are increasingly against embedded systems and devices out at the edge, not against central servers. Second, you're not safe even if your equipment comes from big-name suppliers. In some ways, the more popular the gear the more enticing it is as a target for hackers. – Jesse Berst

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According to a report from the Homeland Security News Wire, RuggedCom has said it is investigating Clarke's claims but did not elaborate.

Clarke maintains that hackers who can spy on communications of infrastructure operators could gain credentials to access computer systems which control power plants as well as other critical systems.“If you can get to the inside, there is almost no authentication, there are almost no checks and balances to stop you,” Clarke told the Chicago Tribune.

This is not the first time Clarke has raised questions about RuggedCom security. We told you back in May that he found a critical security lapse in the company's hardened industrial networking equipment, then made the issue public after he decided the company might not take care of the problem otherwise.

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Jesse Berst is the founder and chief analyst of Smart Grid News.com, the industry's oldest and largest smart grid site. A frequent keynoter at industry events in the U.S. and abroad, he also serves on advisory committees for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Institute for Electric Efficiency. He often provides strategic consulting to large corporations and venture-backed startups. He is a member of the advisory boards of GridGlo and Calico Energy Services.