As carmakers transition the bulk of their fleets to electric vehicles, EV charging stations are rolling out across home garages and public streets. But research has found security vulnerabilities that could put user vehicles, their data, and the electricity grid's safety at risk.
The background:
White hat hackers from Pen Test Partners dug right in and found security risks in five of six home electric vehicle charging brands and public EV charging networks.
What's happening:
The researchers found a range of vulnerabilities that hackers could potentially exploit. Hackers could, in some instances, overtake accounts and turn remote control charging on and off.
With one charger they could use the charge point as a remote ‘back door’ into the user’s home network.
In the case of the public EV charger, there was potential to access another user’s account for a free charge. Fortunately, all companies concerned have tightened up their security efforts. However, this raises bigger issues about the fact there is no global EV security standard.
A quick take:
Safe and secure EV chargers are essential to EV adoption. Unless security is a top priority, users are left at risk, and there's the potential to destabilize the electricity grid.
Want to know more? Read the full story here.
