Electric charging stations on the Moscow-Petersburg M-11 high-speed highway have been subjected to external interference and are currently disconnected for preventive maintenance, Rosseti reported. As a result of hacking, obscene messages appeared on the screens of gas stations. No other consequences of the hack are reported.
The company notes that the IT infrastructure of these charging stations is not connected with the rest of the charges managed by the Rosseti Group companies and, moreover, with the main activity of the group.
The charging stations, Rosseti notes, have been in test operation in isolation all this time. Taking into account these circumstances, the best software options for these devices were considered, among other things. In the near future, they will be “flashed” and will return to work.
“The manufacturer left a bookmark in the controller, which gave him the possibility of hidden access via the Internet. According to our information, these controllers are widely used at electric charging stations exported by Ukraine to Europe,” the message also says.
In the near future, they will be “flashed” and will return to work.
The stations are located at recreation areas on the 23rd km in both directions of movement. When moving from Moscow, the charging station is located in front of the exit to Terminal D,E,F, and the second station is located immediately after Sheremetyevo Airport when moving to Moscow. Later it was revealed that the main components were manufactured by Autoenterprise (Ukraine), and the Russian supplier produced a screwdriver assembly.
Attacks on charging stations can have real consequences. If hackers decide to interfere with the operation of such stations, then electric car drivers, their manufacturers and even the city power grid may suffer. Weakly protected software code used at charging stations can reveal the data of drivers’ bank cards to hackers, which will lead to financial losses. Vulnerabilities in electric vehicles are also of concern to electric vehicle manufacturers, as compromised charging stations can help cyber criminals infiltrate the systems of these electric vehicles. People who don’t even drive electric cars may also suffer, since insufficient security of charging stations can be seen as an open door for hackers who want to damage the power grid. Attackers who can gain access to charging stations will potentially be able to “return” electricity back to the grid, destabilizing the situation in the area.