Cyber defense in OCPP for EV charging security risks

The Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is a widely adopted communication standard that enables vendor-independent communication between charging points and Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station management systems. OCPP has significant cyber risks in terms of weak authentication mechanisms and improper session handling, exposing it to potential EV charging-related security threats. The backward incompatibility of the recent version of OCPP also poses challenges in the seamless adoption of the protocol. This paper introduces a comprehensive cyber defense framework to mitigate the security risks associated with OCPP. Through a detailed analysis of its vulnerabilities, the framework proposes targeted enhancements and mitigation strategies to further strengthen its security. The results demonstrate that the proposed OCPP significantly enhances both security and performance, surpassing its predecessor and current state-of-the-art security solutions for EV charging.