Industry Voices | Connectivity, Security Test EV Charging Capabilities

For some time, the public considered electric vehicles reserved for affluent or eco-conscious individuals. However, automakers continue diversifying their offerings for various markets, providing consumers with more EV options.

At the same time, there is a coordinated effort from governments and legislators to incentivize drivers to switch to EVs. California is leading the charge with its Alternative Fuel Vehicle Parking Incentive Programs, as well as Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) and Near-ZEV Component Rebates. In Europe, EVs are already becoming more ubiquitous. New EV car registrations reached nearly 3.2 million in 2023, a 20% increase from 2022.

This growth in EVs will necessitate the installation of tens of thousands of new EV charging stations. Of course, the job of EV charging companies doesn’t end after a charger gets installed. EV charging companies must address connectivity and security challenges to ensure the highest uptime for their dispersed deployments.

EV Charging Connectivity Woes: Stability and Scalability

One of the most common issues plaguing EV charging companies concerns connectivity. EV charging companies risk downtime if they cannot maintain a stable connection to their charging stations. There are different types of service outages, all of which are costly. Sometimes, the driver can charge their vehicle but can’t pay, so they get the charge for free; other times, the entire station is down, causing the driver to search elsewhere.

Another challenge is managing connectivity at scale. While it may not be difficult to sustain a reliable connection for five different locations, the mounting demand for more EV charging stations will require connectivity capabilities to scale from five to 10 to 100 locations. Many EV charging companies with large deployments struggle to identify and resolve outages quickly, often relying on customers to report problems.  

The Need for an End-to-End Connectivity Solution

EV charging companies need an end-to-end solution that can meet the connectivity needs of their rollouts. Imagine an EV charging station with five chargers. Each charger has its own Subscriber Identify Module (SIM) card and data plan. The EV charging company can enable more streamlined connectivity management by consolidating those five chargers into a single, managed cellular device, maximizing uptime and security.

An ideal solution must also have the ability to scale accordingly. For example, if an EV charging company has a nationwide fleet of chargers, some will likely operate best on a certain carrier, while others will be better on another. EV charging companies need automatic network selection capabilities so that Internet of Things (IoT) devices can choose the most optimal carrier, depending on the location of the charging station. Similarly, this end-to-end solution should have dual SIM capabilities for seamless failover to a secondary carrier to protect against service outages.

Common Security Risks EV Charging Stations Face

In addition to connectivity, another persistent challenge is security. EV charging companies may have security in place to maintain compliance with regulators – however, plenty of these solutions are more of a band-aid, creating vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit.

Some EV charging companies want to use Wi-Fi-based solutions to take debit and credit card transactions. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi is not secure, and cybercriminals can often leverage this to inflict damage to the EV charger or the vehicle via overcharging or applying the wrong charge voltage. Worse, they could even hack into the back-end system and affect the charge network.

Bad actors will also physically attack charging stations. These attacks range from pure vandalism to intentional thievery through skimmer devices or cutting off the charging cable to steal the copper wiring.

The Features of an Ideal Security Solution

For an EV charging company to securely transmit payment data from point A to point B, it will need an end-to-end EV charging solution that accounts for security and connectivity. Leading connectivity providers offer reliable cellular and network links and can route transaction data to their PCI-compliant data centers via a VPN connection.

Security should also extend to all relevant infrastructure that stores data or routes payments. To that end, a best-in-class connectivity provider will use physical hardware like Ethernet and cellular routers to route payment information securely. Other best practices include using secure protocols and encryption for devices on the EV charger, like IoT sensors and cameras.

Furthermore, leading security solutions can augment surveillance efforts through remote management and remote monitoring, helping EV charging companies thwart and respond quickly to physical and digital attacks from bad actors.

Competitive Differentiation Through Customer Experience  

As more players enter the EV charging arena, it is paramount that companies differentiate themselves by offering the highest quality customer experience. Charging stations must operate smoothly, securely and efficiently, with minimal downtime and maximal uptime, requiring reliable connectivity and redundancy with carrier networks and the back-end.

Achieving this lucrative, secure and always-on status is not easy – EV charging companies, whether established or startup, are, at the end of the day, not experts in connectivity or security.