Impact of the Open Charge Point Protocol Between the Electric Vehicle and the Fast Charging Station on the Cybersecurity of the Smart Grid

Abstract

Cyber-physical security is becoming an important issue within the smart grid. The growth in sales of the electric vehicles (EVs) dictates the need for high-power fast charging stations (HP-FCS). The operation and control of such HP-FCS requires the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT), which makes such critical infrastructure prone to cyber-attacks and hence compromising the charging of the EVs in particular when operating in vehicle-to-grid mode. In Canada, the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is considered one of the most popular protocols used in HP-FCS. This charging protocol does not include built-in security measures against cyberattacks and hence it may represent an access point to the unauthorized users. In this paper, potential threats against HP-FCS that uses the OCPP are demonstrated through the cyberattacks applied to microgrid equipped with distributed renewable energy resources. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates how to implement a cyber-attack on such a microgrid when operating in an islanded mode while investigating the impact of such cyberphysical attacks on its components.