Electric car security warning to South Africa

As electric vehicles gain popularity in South Africa, they face increasing cybersecurity threats, which could compromise vehicle functionality, personal data security, or charging infrastructure if timely measures are not implemented.

This was explained by William Petherbridge, systems engineering manager for Southern Africa at Fortinet, who said that EVs and their charging infrastructure are just as susceptible to cyberattacks as any other internet-connected technology.

The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa’s (Naamsa) Q3 2024 review reported a sharp increase in new energy vehicle (NEV) sales compared to Q3 2023.

NEVs include fully electric, plug-in hybrid, and traditional hybrid vehicles, with traditional hybrids seeing the largest year-over-year growth.

NEV sales by 17 industry brands rose by 88%, climbing from 2,034 units in Q3 2023 to 3,824 units in Q3 2024. This growth follows an even more dramatic year-on-year increase of 169.8% in Q2 2024.

In 2023, NEV sales grew by 65.8% to 7,783 units, up from 4,694 units in 2022. For the first time, NEVs exceeded 1% of the total new vehicle market in 2023, accounting for 1.47% of sales compared to 0.88% in 2022.

This steady growth underscores the increasing adoption of NEVs in South Africa.

Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel’s Electric Vehicles White Paper presents a thorough EV roadmap for South Africa, covering aspects like local manufacturing capacity.

The White Paper aims to guide South Africa’s automotive industry in transitioning from primarily producing Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles to a dual-production platform that includes electric vehicles (EVs) by 2035.

A key initiative supporting this transition is the introduction of a 150% investment allowance for qualifying EV investments, set to start in March 2026, which is designed to attract investments and spur innovation.

However, there has been minimal attention given to cybersecurity concerning EVs and the necessary charging stations, Petherbridge explained.

Naamsa observed substantial growth in new energy vehicle sales and issued a tender for over 100 new EV charging stations on major routes last year.

These additions will contribute to the rapidly expanding networks of privately-owned charging stations already established.

“EVs are an emerging trend likely to dominate the market within a few years, so businesses are moving quickly to gain an early lead,” Petherbridge explained.

“In the rush to stake a claim in the EV charge point market, there is a risk that cybersecurity will be a mere afterthought.”

“The strategy of ‘build first, then secure’ is not workable for EV infrastructure because of the potentially extensive size of the ecosystem, the ongoing interaction consumers will have with it, and its connection to the larger electric grid.”

The numerous components in this new environment pose tangible risks to road users if the infrastructure is compromised, he said.

“Hence, cybersecurity needs to be integrated into the EV environment from the beginning.”

He pointed out that both domestic and public EV charge points connect to central management platforms, enabling access to credit card information and user data.

Furthermore, smart EV charging points establish direct communication with the car itself, potentially increasing the risk.

“This will become an increasingly intelligent and complex environment, presenting a potential target for cybercriminals,” he warned.

Hackers could potentially access the power supply, execute a ransomware attack to immobilise the charging station or operating system, gather personal information and credit card data, or even compromise the cars themselves.

Highlighting the importance of implementing multi-layered security measures, he stressed the need to safeguard the physical charge point structures, their operational systems, and networks to mitigate cyber risks.

EV cybersecurity should ensure high availability, guaranteeing that services remain accessible across diverse sites, with centralised management and visibility in the charging ecosystem and control mechanisms.

Segmentation features are also critical to prevent lateral movement by attackers.

Petherbridge advised that EV charging businesses collaborate with reputable OT security vendors to mitigate risks across their entire environment.

This includes securing physical charge points, the network infrastructure, and back-office IT systems.

This article was first published by Daily Investor and is reproduced with permission.