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Review of Electric Vehicle Charger Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities, Potential Impacts, and Defenses

Author

Listed:
  • Jay Johnson

    (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123, USA)

  • Timothy Berg

    (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123, USA)

  • Benjamin Anderson

    (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123, USA)

  • Brian Wright

    (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123, USA)

Abstract

Worldwide growth in electric vehicle use is prompting new installations of private and public electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). EVSE devices support the electrification of the transportation industry but also represent a linchpin for power systems and transportation infrastructures. Cybersecurity researchers have recently identified several vulnerabilities that exist in EVSE devices, communications to electric vehicles (EVs), and upstream services, such as EVSE vendor cloud services, third party systems, and grid operators. The potential impact of attacks on these systems stretches from localized, relatively minor effects to long-term national disruptions. Fortunately, there is a strong and expanding collection of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) cybersecurity best practices that may be applied to the EVSE environment to secure this equipment. In this paper, we survey publicly disclosed EVSE vulnerabilities, the impact of EV charger cyberattacks, and proposed security protections for EV charging technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Jay Johnson & Timothy Berg & Benjamin Anderson & Brian Wright, 2022. "Review of Electric Vehicle Charger Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities, Potential Impacts, and Defenses," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-26, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:11:p:3931-:d:824683
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. C. Birk Jones & Matthew Lave & William Vining & Brooke Marshall Garcia, 2021. "Uncontrolled Electric Vehicle Charging Impacts on Distribution Electric Power Systems with Primarily Residential, Commercial or Industrial Loads," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-16, March.
    2. Sanchari Deb & Kari Tammi & Karuna Kalita & Pinakeshwar Mahanta, 2018. "Impact of Electric Vehicle Charging Station Load on Distribution Network," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-25, January.
    3. Deepak Ronanki & Apoorva Kelkar & Sheldon S. Williamson, 2019. "Extreme Fast Charging Technology—Prospects to Enhance Sustainable Electric Transportation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-17, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Abdolrasol, Maher G.M. & Hannan, M.A. & Tiong, S.K. & Ansari, Shaheer & Hamoudi, Yanis & Ker, Pin Jern & Hossain, M.J., 2025. "Vehicle-to-grid energy technologies: Patent landscape analysis, technical updates and innovations towards sustainable transportation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    2. Manoj Basnet & Mohd. Hasan Ali, 2023. "Deep Reinforcement Learning-Driven Mitigation of Adverse Effects of Cyber-Attacks on Electric Vehicle Charging Station," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Erdem Gümrükcü & Charukeshi Joglekar & Grace Muriithi & Ali Arsalan & Ahmed Aboulebdeh & Behnaz Papari & Alparslan Zehir & Ferdinanda Ponci & Antonello Monti, 2024. "Dynamic Capacity Sharing for Cyber–Physical Resilience of EV Charging," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-28, December.
    4. Zia Muhammad & Zahid Anwar & Bilal Saleem & Jahanzeb Shahid, 2023. "Emerging Cybersecurity and Privacy Threats to Electric Vehicles and Their Impact on Human and Environmental Sustainability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-30, January.
    5. Boucar Diouf, 2025. "Is the Grid Ready for the Electric Vehicle Transition?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-36, September.
    6. Hou, Jiazuo & Hu, Chenxi & Lei, Shunbo & Hou, Yunhe, 2024. "Cyber resilience of power electronics-enabled power systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    7. Marković, Filip & Kovačević, Ana, 2026. "Cyber threats and energy security: Development and analysis of an incident dataset for the period 2022–2024," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    8. Farshid Javadnejad & Mohammad Jahanbakh & Cesar Ariel Pinto & Azita Saeidi, 2024. "Analyzing incentives and barriers to electric vehicle adoption in the United States," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 575-606, September.
    9. Nnaemeka V. Emodi & Udochukwu B. Akuru & Michael O. Dioha & Patrick Adoba & Remeredzai J. Kuhudzai & Olusola Bamisile, 2023. "The Role of Internet of Things on Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and Consumer Experience," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Jiang, Luanjuan & Li, Qianmu & Chen, Xin, 2025. "A novel multi-agent game-theoretic model for cybersecurity strategies in EV charging networks: Addressing risk propagation and budget constraints," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(C).
    11. Gupta, Kirti & Panigrahi, Bijaya Ketan & Joshi, Anupam & Paul, Kolin, 2024. "Demonstration of denial of charging attack on electric vehicle charging infrastructure and its consequences," International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).

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