Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a global cybersecurity solutions provider, highlights the cyber threats that accompany electric vehicle (EV) charging points and warns that this may delay the wider adoption of electric vehicles.
Governments around the world are promoting a greener transition technologies to combat climate change and reduce their dependence on hydrocarbons. Norway has built a network of 17.000 charging points, while the US Department of Transportation recently announced a $5 billion plan to build a new network of EV charging stations. However, Europe and especially Greece have lagged behind in terms of electric car charging stations compared to the US and there is no corresponding data. On the other hand, automakers are ramping up production of new electric vehicles, but the industry isn't doing enough to address cybersecurity concerns of these essentially IoT devices.
Κατά τη διάρκεια φόρτισης των οχημάτων, υπάρχει επίσης σύνδεση data μεταξύ του καθενός από αυτά και του κόμβου EV. Οι σταθμοί φόρτισης είναι συνδεδεμένοι στο Διαδίκτυο και, όπως κάθε άλλη συσκευή IoT, είναι ευάλωτοι στις όποιες ενέργειες κυβερνοεγκληματιών. Εάν ένας παράγοντας απειλής μπορεί να αποκτήσει πρόσβαση σε έναν κόμβο φόρτισης, αυτό θα μπορούσε να έχει σοβαρές συνέπειες, όπως:
• User safety risk: In theory, through an EV charging point, a hacker could gain access to a vehicle's engine management system and either compromise safety, performance, or completely disable the vehicle. Imagine if the vehicle in question was an ambulance, how life-threatening the resulting delays could be.
• Compromises the EV charging network: Hackers could knock out an entire network of charging nodes by exploiting just one vulnerability in one device. This could result in lost revenue for the operator as well as untold disruption to the road network.
• Commercial loss: In addition to shutting down a network of EV nodes, hackers could gain access to software διαχείρισης του χειριστή και να ρίξουν ransomware με επακόλουθη οικονομική ζημιά αλλά και ζημιά στη φήμη της εταιρείας. Επίσης, πολλοί εμπορικοί στόλοι μετατρέπονται σε ηλεκτρική ενέργεια και ένας χάκερ θα μπορούσε να απενεργοποιήσει μια ολόκληρη mode παράδοσης μόνο από το φορητό υπολογιστή του.
• Payment systems: The threat actors could potentially compromise the payment system at an EV hub, leading to financial loss for the driver or network operator.
Threat actors waste no time in escalating and complicating their attacks.
Check Point Research recently reported a 59% global increase in ransomware attacks alone. In the same research, an average of 783 cyberattacks per week is observed in Greece for the 2nd quarter of 2022, showing an increase of 36% on an annual basis. As a result, it won't be long before EV charging stations become operational, so it's vital to protect newer, greener technologies.
“Climate change and the need to reduce our dependence on oil highlight the imperative to move towards greener forms of transport. Cyber security concerns could be another obstacle to the future growth of the electric vehicle market, so it is vital that the industry takes the threat seriously. Insecure charging devices are an open door to increasingly sophisticated threat actors, but there are proven IoT security solutions on the market that could prevent such attacks and further encourage the development of sustainable mobility," said Constantina Koukou, Channel Manager and Check Point Evangelist, at Check Point Software.
