"UTSA Researcher Part of Team Protecting EV Charging Stations From Cyberattacks"

The need for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and Internet-based managing systems grows as the number of electric cars on the road increases. However, these managing systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks. A team of researchers from the UTSA Cyber Center for Security and Analytics, University of Dubai, and Concordia University, are bringing further attention to the vulnerabilities of these cyber systems and recommending measures for protecting them. The systems implemented into electric cars as well as the Internet-enabled EV charging stations perform critical duties over the Internet such as remote monitoring, customer billing, and more. The team delved into the real-life implications of cyberattacks on EV charging stations and how to mitigate them with cybersecurity measures. They also assessed how compromised systems could be used to attack critical infrastructure such as the power grid. The researchers categorized 16 EV charging managing systems into groups, including firmware, mobile, and web apps, then conducted an in-depth security analysis of each one. The team discovered a range of vulnerabilities contained by the systems but highlighted only 13 flaws as the most severe, which include missing authentication and cross-site scripting. Attackers can manipulate the firmware, disguise themselves as actual users, and access user data by exploiting these vulnerabilities. Although it is possible to execute different attacks on various entities in the EV ecosystem, the team's study focuses on exploring large-scale attacks that could severely impact the compromised charging station, its user, and the connected power grid. This article continues to discuss the study on protecting EV charging stations from cyberattacks. 

UTSA reports "UTSA Researcher Part of Team Protecting EV Charging Stations From Cyberattacks"