CYBERSECURITY REVIEW8 SEPTEMBER 2022As the electric vehicle (EV) market grows exponentially worldwide and gas prices keep surging, the demand for alternate transportation has reached new heights and shows no signs of slowing down. Consumers are looking for vehicles that don't rely on fossil fuels and don't hit their wallets as gas prices fluctuate.But as the ownership of EVs increase, more charging options are needed, whether at home or on the road. British Petroleum and the Volkswagen Group recently partnered to install 4,000 EV fast chargers in Europe. These chargers will be connected to a low-voltage grid, which reduces the need for dedicated substations and pricey construction, which are considered the main hindrances to the expansion of charging stations worldwide.However, as more charging stations get built for the growing EV market, the vulnerabilities of being hacked at these charging stations rise. Charging stations are potential targets because they're connected to the internet and communicate with the cars, leaving both station and vehicle vulnerable to hacking and security concerns. As a result, cybersecurity for EVs has become a very important topic. All vehicles, including internal combustion engines (ICE), have potential security risks, but smart vehicles have an advantage. They're designed and built with powerful hardware and dedicated software to give the protection needed to the vehicles and the drivers. As a pioneer and leading manufacturer of premium smart electric vehicles, NIO has listened to their users' concerns and implemented an infrastructure to reduce security risks in their vehicles to protect their cars and users. To do that, NIO's cyber security team usesSeL4 technology to provide an even more secure solution to its cars and charging stations. A secure system originally used by BlackBerry, SeL4 is also known for its secure QNX Neutrino real-time operating system with many application areas. What is Sel4?SeL4 is an operating system microkernel. Unlike application software, the SeL4 OS has exclusive access to a more privileged execution mode of the processor (kernel mode) that gives it direct access to hardware. Applications only ever execute in user mode and can only access hardware when allowed by the operating system. SeL4 technology provides a secure foundation to answer the growing questions and need for cybersecurity safety and confidence. It offers an assurance for the security of smart vehicles, and through NIO's Firmware Over the Air (FOTA), it can continuously upgrade the system to fix the security vulnerabilities and minimize cyber attack risks. NIO actively defends, discovers, and protects potential and existing threats and attacks. As a result, security is essential in hardware and A USER-CENTRIC APPROACH TO CYBERSECURITY: A COMPREHENSIVE METHODOLOGY TO GLOBAL EV CYBERSECURITYBy Yueqiang Cheng, Director, Security Research, NIOIN MY OPINIONYueqiang Cheng
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