Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany and Herzliya, Israel (Oct. 17th, 2023) – Upstream Security announced its partnership with chargeIQ. chargeIQ’s charge point management system enables companies, commercial fleet owners and private users to effectively operate their charge points and charging stations by streamlining access management, billing and operations. ChargeIQ is set to deploy Upstream’s solution to monitor and detect threats against EVSE as well as the entire charging ecosystem. It includes charging points and stations (OCPP, OCPI, OICP, etcNUM0split systems, backend systems, and charging-related mobile apps.
The rapid proliferation of EV charging technologies and the massive government investments in charging infrastructure across the globe is attracting the attention of malicious actors. This attention is expected to drive a steep increase in EV charging cyber-based manipulations. Additionally, it may also lead to operational disruption. Cybersecurity concerns in the EV charging ecosystem have also sparked a wave of new regulations and compliance requirements worldwide. These include the European Union’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and The UK’s Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021. Additionally, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Electric Vehicle Extreme Fast Charging Infrastructure is another prominent regulatory development.
Based on Upstream’s 2023 Global Automotive Cybersecurity Report, which uncovers emerging automotive and smart mobility cybersecurity risks and how they impact the entire smart mobility ecosystem. For the first time in 2022 attacks against EV charging points and infrastructure accounted for 4% of total incidents.
Yoav Levy, Upstream Security CEO and co-founder: “We are thrilled to partner with chargeIQ. We work closely together to safeguard mission-critical charging infrastructure and platforms. The ramp-up in EV adoption is driving the widespread buildout of charging points and stations globally. EV charging services and applications store sensitive data such as user account information and payment details. This makes them attractive targets for hackers. Hackers are also using ransomware to lock down charging stations, rendering them inaccessible until payment of a ransom. These hacking attempts damage the reputation of all involved, from the charging station operator and EV OEMs. The EV OEMs often bundle home charge points with the initial purchase of EVs, which affects the broader EV industry.”
Volker Fricke, co-founder and CTO of chargeIQ: “The EV charging ecosystem requires a holistic cybersecurity approach that expands beyond basic monitoring. In Upstream we found a strategic partner to help us safeguard our platform against malicious attacks. They have the power to jeopardize charge points and stations, EVs and entire electric fleets. Upstream introduced the first of its kind holistic EV charging detection and response (XDR) platform and threat intelligence solutions. These enable us to deliver peace-of-mind to our customers.”
The First Purpose-Built Detection Platform for the EV Charging Ecosystem
Upstream platform is purpose-built to monitor and protect various mobility assets across the EV charging ecosystem. It focuss on OCPP, OICP and OCPI, as well as other telematics and API-based data streams. With an agentless architecture, the Upstream platform requires no software or hardware footprint, ensuring flexibility and fast time-to-security. Moreover, the platform effectively monitors all EV charging assets (including charging-related API transactions), creating a digital twin that reflects the individual state of each charging station, server, and companion application user. Based on the digital twin and advanced ML modules, the platform detects suspicious anomalies such as unauthorized attempts to inject malicious code to charging infrastructure, attempts to access private user data or to configure a high charging current to damage the charging infrastructure or even destabilize the electric grid (e.g. excessive ‘start-charging’ commands that might compromise electrical infrastructure).
Coupled with Upstream’s AutoThreat® PRO threat intelligence solution, which provides threat intelligence based on findings from the deep and dark web, EV charging stakeholders can implement a holistic and proactive approach to secure EV charging assets and ensure the integrity of charging infrastructure.
