Re-thinking Privacy: Strengthening Anonymity in Electric Vehicle Plug-and-Charge Communication

Re-thinking Privacy: Strengthening Anonymity in Electric Vehicle Plug-and-Charge Communication

by Nethmi Hettiarachchi

Applied Sciences & Engineering Computing & Cybersecurity URComputer securityURDPrivacy and data protection
🎙 Nethmi Hettiarachchi 👥 1K 📅 January 2, 2026 ⏱ 53 min 👁 80 📄 expert opinion 🧭 2026-08-15
Available in: English (current) Français

Keywords

Plug-and-ChargeISO 15118PrivacyAnonymityElectric Vehicle

Summary

The webinar, presented by Nethmi Hettiarachchi, a PhD candidate at the Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity, addresses privacy vulnerabilities in the ISO 15118 Plug-and-Charge (PnC) standard for electric vehicle (EV) charging. It begins with an overview of EV types, charging connectors, and communication methods, highlighting the shift to digital communication via power line communication. The presentation details the e-mobility architecture, including entities like the OEM, charging point, and e-mobility service provider, and explains the certificate-based authentication process. It identifies privacy risks, such as session linking and tracking, due to the exposure of identifiers like contract certificates and EMAIDs to trusted-but-curious charging points. The speaker then introduces a novel anonymous authentication and billing protocol designed to preserve EV identity and location privacy. The protocol is formally verified using the Tamarin prover and implemented on resource-constrained devices, demonstrating its efficiency. The talk concludes with key takeaways and a Q&A session, emphasizing the importance of privacy-preserving measures in EV charging infrastructure.

157 words

Critical Evaluation

Value of the Information & Strength of the Argument

The presentation provides valuable insights into a niche but growing area of cybersecurity: EV charging privacy. It clearly articulates the privacy gaps in the widely adopted ISO 15118 standard, supported by real-world attack examples. The proposed protocol is a significant contribution, offering a practical solution that balances privacy with efficiency. The argumentation is well-structured, moving from background to problem statement to solution, and is backed by formal verification and implementation results. The speaker’s expertise and the publication of the work in a peer-reviewed conference enhance its credibility.

Scientific Rigor, Source Quality, Title Accuracy

The presentation demonstrates scientific rigor through the use of formal verification (Tamarin prover) and implementation on testbeds. The speaker references real-world incidents, such as the 2023 ransomware attack and the 2025 data breach at Digital Charging Solutions, to underscore the urgency. However, specific sources for these incidents are not cited in the video or description. The title accurately reflects the content, focusing on rethinking privacy and strengthening anonymity in EV PnC communication. The description provides links to the institute’s website and social media, but no direct references to the research paper or related publications are included.

198 words

Title / Content Match

The title accurately reflects the content, which focuses on enhancing anonymity in EV plug-and-charge communication.

Quality & Reliability

8/10

The presentation is based on original research published in a peer-reviewed conference (SECRYPT 2025) and formally verified with Tamarin prover. The speaker is a PhD candidate with relevant expertise. However, the webinar format and limited public scrutiny of the specific claims reduce the score slightly.

Chapters

Cited Sources

Concurring Sources

  • ISO 15118-2:2014 — The standard that defines Plug-and-Charge communication, which is the focus of the research.
  • Tamarin Prover — Tool used for formal verification of the proposed protocol.

Contribution & Novelties

The webinar presents original research that addresses a critical privacy gap in the ISO 15118 standard. The proposed anonymous authentication and billing protocol is a novel contribution, offering a lightweight solution suitable for resource-constrained environments. The formal verification using Tamarin prover adds rigor, and the implementation on testbeds demonstrates practical feasibility. This work advances the field of EV charging security and privacy.

Pour aller plus loin :

  • ISO 15118-2:2014 — The standard for vehicle-to-grid communication interface, providing the basis for Plug-and-Charge.
  • Tamarin Prover — A tool for formal verification of security protocols, used to verify the proposed protocol.
  • Privacy by Design — A framework for embedding privacy into system design, relevant to the proposed approach.

115 words

Radar Profile

The radar profile shows high scores in information quantity and quality, with slightly lower technical depth and reliability. This indicates a well-structured presentation with solid content, but the technical level may be accessible to a broader audience, and the reliability is based on the speaker's expertise and published research.

Reliability 8/10

💬 Sur les 0 commentaires analysés, aucune tendance n'est disponible.