ENCS, the European Network for Cyber Security, and E.DSO, the European Distribution System Operators’ Association for Smart Grids, have announced the launch of cyber-security requirements for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. As the first in an upcoming series of security standards for smart grid components, these mark a huge step in securing the little-understood cyber risk of EV chargers.
The requirements, which are applicable throughout Europe, provide municipalities and distribution network operators with a practical set of considerations when procuring EV chargers and harmonise security standards across the continent. Integrating the expertise of key industry stakeholders, the new standards are already in use by the Dutch EV knowledge and innovation centre ElaadNL, after they initially approached ENCS to make and maintain the requirements.
Anjos Nijk, Managing Director of ENCS, stated, “From a security standpoint, the potential impact of EVs on the grid simply can’t be understated. By 2020, there’s expected to be nearly 220,000 EV chargers installed. At this scale, these requirements will be vital in neutralising the growing threat from hackers who could potentially cause a blackout through poorly-protected EV chargers.”
Speaking on the development of security measures for EV charging, Joachim Schneider, Chairman of the Technology Committee of E.DSO commented, “These requirements are not only key to the long-term vision of our work with ENCS, but lay a strong foundation for meaningful and proper certification. You can only really achieve this with requirements born out of a collaborative effort between grid operators and cyber experts, which was a key element in our project. This joint expertise will be key in encouraging EV charger manufacturers towards a security-by-design approach.”
Onoph Caron, managing director of ElaadNL, the initial beneficiary of the ground-breaking requirements, stated: “As e-mobility and smart charging increase, it’s vital that cyber security to protect them follows. In the future, the EV fleet will represent grid-scale cumulative power capacity; compromising EV charging could be as disruptive as compromising a power plant. Thanks to our cooperation with ENCS (European Network for Cyber Security) and E.DSO, municipalities, provinces and other tendering organisations, now have a professional set of cyber security requirements which will ensure the electricity network remains reliable, both now and in the future.”
The new requirements build on ENCS and E.DSO’s recent leadership pledge on smart grid cyber security, and on their memorandum of understanding signed in 2016.
