1:11 pm, October 26, 2022
When talking about the security of charging stations, we often think of user safety or mechanical security. While these are certainly relevant considerations, few people’s thoughts would turn to cybersecurity.
This is a mistake, however, as smart charging stations are part of the ‘Internet of Things’, and with everything today becoming increasingly interconnected – from your smartwatch and mobile phone to your car and charging station – the greatest threat comes from vulnerabilities in software.
Juice Technology AG developed its stations from the user’s point of view and recognised software as the key to the development of future-proof charging stations. Consequently, cybersecurity has always been an important topic, and this is permanently reflected in the company strategy.
Wherever there is connectivity, there is also a risk of a vulnerability to hacking. In other words, the charging infrastructure can potentially serve as a gateway for cybercriminals – with serious consequences for users.
But what exactly are the threats? These range from data and financial theft to denial-of-service attacks, which could render the charging unit inoperable, while blackmail is also a possibility.
Juice does not develop isolated individual solutions. Instead, all its products form part of a complete, holistic system in which the software plays the lead role.
For this reason, Juice always considers cybersecurity as early as possible in the development of any connected product and does so using ‘software first’ and ‘security by design’ approaches. The company utilises proprietary chipsets and encrypted communication systems and continually tests the robustness of the virtual security using both its in-house team and independent software engineers.
Thanks to these methods, the company has achieved the ISO 27001 standard, which is considered the most important certification in the world of cybersecurity.
Moreover, it has recently received the ‘ISO/SAE 21434 Road vehicles – Cybersecurity engineering’ certification. Although the charging station is not an integral part of the vehicle, and therefore not currently covered by this standard, the charging infrastructure is directly affected as a connected part of an electric vehicle.
‘For us, adopting the standard represents the consistent continuation of our three-level concept for security in electromobility, which we presented at the Juice World Charging Day 2021,’ says Christoph Erni, CEO of Juice Technology.
‘We are once again a step ahead of our competitors and continue our focus on cybersecurity. After all, even though this cybersecurity standard is not yet mandatory for suppliers to automotive manufacturers, sooner or later it will become a must for the entire industry. That is why we are adopting it now, so that we can continue to be a strong partner for OEMs.’
Juice is once more setting the standard and highlighting the importance of thinking holistically and making security a top priority.
You can find out more about Juice at www.juice.world.
Picture: Christoph Erni, CEO and founder of Juice Technology, presenting his keynote address at the 2021 Juice World Charging Day: ‘Cybersecurity at Juice already begins in product development’ / Juice Technology AG
