Electric Vehicles (EVs) are often praised for their environmental benefits and cost-effectiveness, but there are concerns about their security. According to experts from Check Point Software, EV charging stations are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks. These attacks could lead to the theft of personal data from vehicles or, even worse, allow hackers to take control of the car and cause major disruptions.
Traditional internal combustion engine cars typically contain around 100-200 million lines of code, but EVs are even more complex. With more electronic control units (ECUs) added to manage Eco-friendly features, these vehicles rely heavily on internet connectivity to sync with cloud-based management platforms. This opens up new potential vulnerabilities.
Charging stations themselves are also susceptible to cyberattacks, as they are linked to critical energy infrastructure. Hackers could exploit these weaknesses to disrupt power supplies, causing temporary or even permanent blackouts.
According to Peugeot, over a million new EVs are expected to hit the roads in the U.S. and U.K., amplifying the security risks. If the global numbers are taken into account, the threat could grow exponentially, regardless of what oil-rich nations anticipate for the future of fuel.
These risks arise because charging stations often lack proper cybersecurity measures. Many have insecure internet connections, insufficient network segmentation, and fail to meet authentication and encryption standards, all while managing large amounts of energy.
Security researchers point out that these vulnerabilities could lead to high-profile attacks. For example, during the early days of the Ukraine war in 2022, a cyberattack on Moscow and St. Petersburg highways resulted in anti-Putin messages being displayed. Similarly, in the U.K., hackers took over charging station displays on the Isle of Wight, showing explicit content for an extended period.
A significant data breach also occurred in early 2024, when servers at Shell, which stored EV charging logs, were compromised. Sensitive user data was reportedly stolen and sold on the dark web.
Given these risks, it’s crucial that companies building charging stations take a thoughtful approach, incorporating strong security measures to prevent both current and future cyber threats. Drivers should also exercise caution when using cheaper charging stations, ensuring their vehicles are regularly updated with the latest software and restricting data connections to manual settings when possible.
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