Keeping the Grid Safe: The Role of Cybersecurity in EV Charging Infrastructure

Nov. 2, 2023

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) and the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) recently hosted a workshop to advance cybersecurity efforts around electric vehicle (EV) and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) infrastructure. Government and private sector cyber leaders attended the forum in support of building a resilient and secure EV charging ecosystem.

The session was a follow-up to the October 2022 ONCD cybersecurity forum and further fostered relationships among EV charging cybersecurity stakeholders. The workshop informed the attending community about ongoing federal EV charging cybersecurity programs, worked on developing a shared future vision for EV charging cybersecurity, identified cybersecurity needs, and developed action items to improve public/private coordination for EV charging cybersecurity in 2024.

Per the meeting resolutions, the Joint Office will develop a prioritized EV and EVSE charging infrastructure cybersecurity action plan. Future meetings will include detailed discussion on those and other action plans and an increased focus on identifying new relevant cybersecurity activities.

The cybersecurity workshop is the latest effort by the Joint Office to prioritize cybersecurity as part of the buildout of a national EV charging network. The Joint Office has also developed sample cybersecurity procurement language clauses that can be modified for use in requests for proposals (RFPs) and electric vehicle service provider (EVSP) contracts.