EVSE – V2G EVSE Limited

Vulnerabilities in Connected EV Chargers Could Damage Home Networks?

Yesterday cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab published a press release which claims that:

Kaspersky Lab experts have discovered that electric vehicle chargers supplied by a major vendor carry vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cyber-attackers, and the consequences of a successful attack could include damage to the home electricity network. While modern electric vehicles are tested constantly for vulnerabilities, this research reveals that some of their essential accessories, such as battery chargers, may remain at risk.

For more information on the electric vehicle charger vulnerabilities discovered by Kaspersky Lab, read the full report on Securelist.com.

The “major vendor” referred to is not identified in the press release, but the full report on Securelist reveals that ChargePoint, Inc. is the company in question.

Kaspersky continue:

The researchers found a way to initiate commands on the charger, to either stop the charging processor or set it to the maximum current possible. While the first option would only prevent a person from using the car, the second one could potentially cause the wires to overheat on a device that is not protected by a trip fuse. If compromised, the connected charger could therefore cause a power overload that would take down the network to which it was connected. This could result in significant financial impact and, in the worst-case scenario, damage to other devices connected to the network.

To change the amount of electricity being consumed, all that an attacker would need to do is obtain access to the Wi-Fi network that the charger is connected to. Since the devices are designed for home users, security for the wireless network is likely to be limited. This means that attackers could easily gain access, for example, by bruteforcing all possible password options – a common method of attack. According to Kaspersky Lab statistics, 94 percent of attacks on IoT in 2018 came from Telnet and SSH password bruteforcing. Once inside the wireless network, the intruders can easily find the charger’s IP address, which, in turn, will allow them to exploit any vulnerabilities and disrupt operations.

All the vulnerabilities discovered by Kaspersky Lab researchers were reported to the vendor and have now been patched.

The final paragraph is a relief, but here are Kaspersky Lab’s suggestions for avoiding similar problems in the future:

To protect your smart devices, including electric vehicle accessories:

Regularly update all your smart devices to the latest software versions. Updates may contain patches for critical vulnerabilities, which, if left unpatched, could give cybercriminals access to your home and private life.

Do not use the default password for Wi-Fi routers and other devices. Immediately after install, change it to a strong password, and do not use the same password for several devices.

It is recommended to isolate the smart home network from the network used by your or your family’s personal devices for basic internet searching. This is to ensure that if a device is compromised with malware, your smart home system will not be affected.

V2G EVSE ISOSEC Project Attracts OLEV Funding

Tremail – 26 October 2018

For immediate release

V2G EVSE secures OLEV funding to assess the feasibility of combining their V2x ready smart EV charging station controller with the Urban Electric UEone pop-up charger
ISOSEC (Inconspicuous Smart On-Street EV Charging) is a £114,000 project with Urban Electric Ltd, Plymouth City Council, Energeo Ltd, Duku and Urban Foresight Ltd

V2G EVSE Limited’s “Inconspicuous Smart On-Street EV Charging” (ISOSEC) project is part of the “Electric vehicle charging for public spaces: feasibility” competition, funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and administered by Innovate UK.

As a first phase of an innovation funding programme worth approximately £40 million, 27 feasibility studies will analyse the application and impact of innovative technologies for EV charging.

In particular, 18 feasibility studies will focus on how a well designed, well integrated EV charging infrastructure in public spaces can help facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) among local residents without access to home charging due to a lack of off-street parking.

9 feasibility studies will instead focus on the application of Wireless EV charging to commercial users, reducing business disruptions when charging the vehicles and therefore increasing the attractiveness of the EV proposition.

These projects will assess the feasibility of defining sustainable models intended to maximise the effectiveness and impact of infrastructure deployment. The wide variety of technologies and business models analysed in these studies will help implement a charging infrastructure that is affordable, dependable, and fair for all road users, as well as making owning an EV an attractive proposition for all.

In a subsequent phase of the funding round, the best projects will be competing for funding for implementation of real-world demonstrators.

The ISOSEC project will investigate the feasibility of combining Urban Electric Limited‘s UEone pop-up (retractable) charging post with V2G EVSE’s standards-compliant V2x-ready smart charging station controller.

This system builds on the Urban Electric UEone charger being trialled with Oxford City Council, and develops it into a smart charging solution.

The project will also assess the feasibility of using big data and geographical information systems to locate EV charge posts where they can maximise their potential to deliver grid services to DNOs together with creating a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) funding model to:

Enable the roll-out of charging posts at no-or-low cost to local authorities
Generate revenue for the local authority over the lifetime of the SPV

The other collaborators on the ISOSEC project are:

Commenting on the award of the OLEV funding Olivier Freeling-Wilkinson, cofounder of Urban Electric, said that:

Urban Electric is focused on developing charging infrastructure that does not detract from the urban environment. We are excited to be collaborating with our consortium partners to explore the feasibility of developing the UEone pop-up charger as a smart charging solution.

V2G EVSE’s CEO Jim Hunt added:

It was a great pleasure to work with Keith and Oli on the preparation of our bid over a comparatively short period of time. We have a great team of collaborators, and I very much look forward to working with them all on assessing the feasibility of both our innovative on street charging business model and the potential for integrating our smart charging station controller into the UEone EV charging post.

Ian Dee, CEO of energeo remarked that:

Energeo are delighted to be part of project ISOSEC, which aims to address some of the key issues around EV infrastructure roll-out in complex urban environments. We’re particularly excited to assess the role geospatial big data and analytics can play in locating charging infrastructure to maximise utilisation and support the delivery of grid services.

Dan Turner, Low Carbon City Officer for Plymouth City Council, pointed out that:

Plymouth City Council are committed to further developing EV infrastructure in both public spaces and on street charging. We are excited to be collaborating with such innovative partners to assess the feasibility of installing pop-up chargers and we hope that this work can lead to the development of an on street charging business model in order to help Plymouth become a more sustainable place to live.

Paul Blakeman, Head of Innovation at Urban Foresight, commented:

Urban Foresight is a smart cities consultancy focused on helping cities to procure innovation, manage innovation pilots and deliver smart city programmes. We are excited to be collaborating with this group of consortium partners to assess how smart charging can be implemented to support EVs in Plymouth.

** END **

About V2G EVSE

V2G EVSE Limited is a British electric vehicle charging startup based in North Cornwall. In March 2018 the company began development of a Vehicle-to-Grid controller with modular communications using seed funding provided by a Department for Transport T-TRIG grant. Jim Hunt, V2G EVSE’s CEO, sits on a number of British and international smart-grid and electric vehicle standards setting committees. The V2G EVSE controller firmware will incorporate those emerging standards as they develop.

V2G-EVSE.com. Contact: email hidden; JavaScript is required

About Urban Electric

Urban Electric Networks Ltd is a British electric vehicle charging startup formed in London in June 2017 by Olivier Freeling-Wilkinson and Keith Johnston in the belief that EV charging infrastructure should impact positively on urban streetscapes. Voted Top 30 European Cleantech Start-up 2018 by Climate-KIC, the EU’s climate innovation agency.

urbanelectric.london. Contact: email hidden; JavaScript is required

About Energeo

Energeo utilise geospatial Big Data, Open Data, and Machine Learning to create unique insights into existing energy performance and future potential for renewable and sustainable energy. The company is currently using those techniques to pilot methods to identify the optimum location for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

energeo.co.uk. Contact: email hidden; JavaScript is required

Plymouth City Council

plymouth.gov.uk. Contact: email hidden; JavaScript is required

About Duku (Albright Product Design)

Duku is a Product Design consultancy that provide help in taking an idea through to production including; prototyping, intellectual property and manufacturing support. Duku are currently working with Urban Electric on projects supported by Innovate UK to develop the UK’s EV charging infrastructure.

Duku.co.uk. Contact: email hidden; JavaScript is required

About Urban Foresight

Urban Foresight® was established in 2011 as the world’s first dedicated smart city consultancy. We are a mission driven business that thinks deeply about the opportunities to transform services and solve societal challenges.

Our multi-disciplinary team works across different sectors and is skilled at translating ideas into action.

We write award winning reports, provide evidence-based insights and deliver investment-ready strategies.

urbanforesight.org. Contact: email hidden; JavaScript is required

Cornwall New Energy Electric Vehicles Seminar

We’ll be attending the Cornwall New Energy electric vehicles seminar which takes place on the morning of September 18th at the Royal Cornwall Showground just outside Wadebridge, right here in North Cornwall!

Not only that, but also we’ll have a stand as part of the associated “supplier fair”. The proof of concept of our new V2x enabled standards compliant electric vehicle charging station controller will be on display:

V2G-EVSE-Controller

If you’re a small business owner then please come along and have a chat, whether about electric vehicles in general or vehicle-to-grid technology in particular. With a bit of luck we’ll also have one or two rather larger pieces of equipment to show you as well.

Apart from V2G EVSE Limited some other more famous names will be in attendance. According to the CNE announcement:

You will be given the opportunity to discover more about CNE and this emerging technology, meet with local experts and suppliers and test drive an electric vehicle. Speakers and suppliers include representatives from Cornwall New Energy, Nissan, Renault, Ecodrive, the Energy Savings Trust and Mitsubishi.

You can take a look at some of the other EVs in question over on our parent company’s web site, but here’s the subject of our most recent long distance test drive, the 2018 Nissan LEAF:

2018-06-28_10-12-43_878

I’m also led to believe that there will be some e-Bikes on display as well. Book your free tickets now, and if you would like to test drive some EVs on the 18th of next month please don’t forget to bring your driving licence with you!

Standards Based V2x Charging Station Technology

We have been asked to elucidate on the nature of the work we will undertake following our successful bid for Department for Transport funding. Whilst we await ministerial sign off on the associated press release please note the following items of information. The title of the project is:

Vehicle to Grid Controller with Modular Communications

Our tagline above mentions:

Standards based V2x charging station technology

Here is an infographic based on a slide from the “International V2G Standards” presentation I gave at the International Energy Agency’s (IEA for short) Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (HEV for short) Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP for short) Wireless Charging and V2X Experts’ Workshop held at the Newcastle University Business School on March 20th 2018:

Our current funding does not cover the development of any power electronics.

Hopefully that is of some help?