As electric vehicles become increasingly popular among consumers, experts continue to voice concerns about the new possibilities for hackers to cause problems for the energy grid.
Canadians are embracing electric vehicles (EVs). According to information released in April by Turo, a peer-to-peer carsharing platform, 54 percent of Canadians plan to buy a hybrid or fully electric car. Data from Statistics Canada also shows that EV sales have increased, making up 5.3 percent of total vehicle registrations in 2021.
There are now 20,478 public chargers at 8,249 stations across Canada, as of January 2023. That’s up from around 6,000 in 2021.
It’s these chargers that are the concern. As David Masson, Torontonian and director of enterprise security at Darktrace, told The Globe and Mail, “As soon as you plug anything else in the cyber world, the thing that’s just been plugged in can either hack, or be hacked by something else.”
Some hacks have been relatively tame, only seeking to spread a message. Wired notes a few cases, like when meme-ified images of President Biden appeared on American EV charges or anti-Putin messages popped up in Russia at the start of its invasion of Ukraine. However, when the Canadian government alone is facing more than 2.3 trillion attacks from hackers annually, no one wants to wait until there’s a more serious reason to take action.
Experts like Mitra Mirhassani, an engineering professor at the University of Windsor, are concerned about much more insidious hacks as EVs become widespread. Mirhassani told the CBC that a hacker could theoretically steal energy from the grid, cause an imbalance, and ultimately disrupt day-to-day activity, all by hacking an EV charger.
Other researchers back up this concern. A joint study between departments at Concordia University in Montreal, the University of Texas in the United States, and the University of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates identified several critical vulnerabilities in “private and public electric vehicle supply equipment.” It says the “potential impact of attacks on these systems stretches from localized, relatively minor effects to long-term national disruptions.” Across the pond, a British security firm has performed research identifying flaws in the chargers most commonly used there.
A lot of steps will be necessary to protect the energy grid from hackers. Mirhassani pointed out that the location of charging stations could be improved, noting that “charging stations are placed wherever a company sees convenient. These can be insecure roads and parking lots.” The joint Canadian-American-UAE study also highlighted a few recommendations, like stronger encryption, tamper alarms, and methods for reporting and reviewing suspicious behaviour.
Source: Wired, The Globe and Mail
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
