Electric car charging stations are vulnerable to cyber attacks. The alert is made by cybersecurity experts. Rui Duro, responsible for Check Point Software in Portugal in Portugal, explains that these charging stations are equivalent to critical infrastructure networks and the lack of protection exposes them to risks.
“These networks open up a set of opportunities for those who carry out the attacks, such as hijacking the network itself or even reaching the car itself,” he says.
For this reason, Rui Duro underlines the need to strongly protect all networks and argues that it is not enough for governments to encourage the creation of electric charging stations, it is necessary to deal with the problem. “The way in which (these networks) are still not based on the concern for cybersecurity, the operability, the simplicity of that operation and not precisely the security of the network prevails,” he assures.
At the charging stations, “not only do we have the capacity to charge the car, we have a car user identification phase and there is user data to pass from one place to another, we have a payment phase and authorizations that are not from the own network, but of third parties and all this complexity favors those who want to take advantage and attack”, warns Rui Duro.
questioned by TSF On whether making these alerts is not afraid of contributing to delaying the energy transition, since that will be another concern for those who are thinking of buying an electric car, the expert admits that it is “a double-edged sword”.
“It is a necessary pressure to [a transição energética] if it is done safely, because if the opposite happens and we have a network attack on a weekend, for example, then the effect will be much worse” and the same goes for saying that prevention is better than cure.
So what is the best way for electric vehicle owners in Portugal to protect themselves? Here Rui Duro explains: “I have been working in this area for many years, I have lived many years with cybercrime and cyberattacks and I cannot stop living my life normally, but I am as careful as possible.” .”
The person in charge of Check Point Software believes that, at this point, there is no cause for alarm, but he recognizes that charging the car at home is always safer: “The network is more controlled, it is not as exposed and not me, nor my personal data, nor my bank details”.
THE TSF It has already contacted Mobi.e, the Managing Entity of the Electric Mobility Network, which is collecting information to respond to the concerns of cybersecurity experts.
Source: TSF
