Threats and Mitigation of DDoS Cyberattacks Against the U.S. Power Grid via EV Charging

Cars are an ever changing and integral part of modern society. Two of the biggest changes in vehicles today are their heavy integration with wireless communication and the push toward battery powered Electric Vehicles (EV). EV and EV charging stations have become a part of the Internet of Things (IoT). While this connectedness increases the convenience and functionality of the vehicles and charging stations, it also opens them up to a wide range of cyber threats. This thesis examines the potential threats against the EV charging ecosystem through a historical analysis of past cyberattacks and identified vulnerabilities. As EV charging stations directly interface with the U.S. power grid, an attack initiated on EV and charging stations is capable of jeopardize the supply-demand balance of the power grid. If a large enough population is vulnerable to attack, then through a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) structured attack, the supply-demand balance can be exploited to cause widespread blackouts and grid instability. Using the historical analysis of cyberthreats, this thesis uses statistical analysis to hypothesize the feasibility of a DDoS cyberattack against the power grid using the EV charging ecosystem as an attack vector. We then discuss potential mitigation strategies that can help reduce the chance of a DDoS style attack against the power grid using EVs