Investigation of cybersecurity issues in using electric vehicle fleets with battery exchange infrastructure

Sustainable public transfer systems are getting a lot of attention, and many organizations are transforming their fleets into systems that rely on alternative fuels; the Electric Vehicle (EV) being most popular. The environmental, geopolitical and financial advantages of EV vehicles are well studied; however, security of these systems is not given full attention. The most common method of recharging EVs is to use exchange or recharge stations. Main components of a charging station include the main computing board, communication equipment connected to a central unit, RFID readers, and other electrical and power electronic components. Essentially, a computer is placed on the street, with potential access to the Grid and central infrastructure of the city. This research will investigate weak security points in hardware and electronic components that can provide adversaries with possible access to the primary network, and proposes a few alternative methods to be applied.

Faculty Supervisor:

Mitra Mirhassani

Student:

Harikrishnan Balagopal;Madhan Balakumar;Hamidreza Esmalie Taheri;Meiton Pan

Partner:

Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Windsor