E-mobility security: certainty requires attention!

13. September 2021

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Press Release

E-mobility security: certainty requires attention!

At the Juice World Charging Day 2021, Juice Technology took up arms on the topic of cyber security and charging infrastructure

Juice Technology AG, manufacturer of charging stations and software, leader in mobile charging stations for electric vehicles, broaches the issue of security at the second Juice World Charging Day 2021 at Sugar Mountain in Munich.

Flawless software is the heart of every charging solution. That’s why Juice sees itself as a software company first and foremost. Juice doesn’t develop isolated individual solutions because all of the products are part of an overall system in which the software plays the leading role. The recently launched j+ pilot app is an important part of this. It is the first software product from Juice that works outside the charging stations but is nevertheless part of a complete ecosystem and will successively be expanded to include more vehicles and functions, such as fleet management. j+ pilot is therefore the key to the vehicle and to the charging station with analyses of all types. Integration of the load management system, incorporation of smart home, access to cleaner energy and other functions which fully open up the world of e-mobility for the user will follow as the next step.

The Internet of Things requires precautionary measures

A strong focus on software makes worrying about the security aspect inevitable. Because everything is increasingly networked – from smart watch and mobile phone to vehicle and charging station – the greatest risk lies in weaknesses in the software. Comprehensive connectivity provides a lot of opportunities, but also entails an inherent cyber security risk. As a result, attacks affect not only computers and smartphones, but also power plants, vehicles and even charging stations.

Up to this point, all of the actors involved – energy suppliers, charging station and automobile manufacturers – have only taken care of their own part. It is of the utmost importance to have an overview of the complete system here. Ultimately, all of the infrastructure presents a target. Prof. Thomas R. Köhler, cyber security expert and member of the Board of Directors at Juice Technology AG, therefore emphasises the necessity of looking at the system as a whole:

“For Juice, it is important to broach the issue of the threat of cyber attacks, to raise awareness of the topic and to indicate that the company is doing everything in its power on the topic, but also to encourage everyone else involved, whether service providers, energy suppliers or automobile manufacturers, to discuss the topic openly.”

The 3-level concept for comprehensive security

Security in charging infrastructure is based on three pillars: physical security, user security and software security. When it comes to cyber security, Juice stands out from other competitors thanks to its “Software First” and “Security by Design” approaches – i.e. compliance with cyber security standards from the first components through to the finished product. Juice achieves this with its own chipsets, communication which is encrypted as standard and constant tests, particularly by independent software engineers. Juice has initiated its own Bug Bounty programme to this end.

This software-driven development within the industry changed the entire market. That’s why Juice first confronted energy suppliers with the request to create a network-wide standard for load management. Standardisation of billing and payment options, e.g. with a credit card obligation as is required in Germany, should likewise be accelerated. However, this will become superfluous as soon as ISO 15118, according to which the vehicle must communicate independently with the charging station and no additional measures are required for activation, becomes standard. Furthermore, all other actors such as property owners and property management must be brought into the discussion. Because future cyber threats to electric vehicles, charging pillars and the power supply can only be warded off with a strategy which is jointly agreed.

Consistently high demand for charging options

CEO and founder of Juice Technology Christoph Erni took the opportunity to also summarise the developments of the past year at this year’s Juice World Charging Day.

Juice continued to demonstrate strong growth in 2021 and today is a company with branches around the world. Owing to high demand, production capacities at the sites in Germany and China have been further expanded. Juice has also increased its staffing level and moved to a new headquarters.

Individual products for East and West

Global expansion makes it necessary to adjust the products to suit the respective local conditions – in particular the power supply and local regulations. That’s why the JUICE BOOSTER 2 is now also available in versions for the particular requirements of the Chinese and US markets.

Juice Technology has developed the JUICE CHARGER easy and the JUICE CHARGER me in order to fill the gap between the mobile JUICE BOOSTER 2 and the JUICE CHARGER 2, which has proven itself as a public charging station. Both charging stations are eligible for financial support from the KfW (Credit Institute for Reconstruction) in Germany and are therefore particularly attractive to end customers. While the JUICE CHARGER easy turns the portable JUICE BOOSTER 2 into a fixed charging station, the simple, cost-effective JUICE CHARGER me in turn is the perfect wall box for bringing electromobility to all households with future-proofing.

All Juice news at a glance

The Juice World Charging Day 2021 was attended by around 200 industry representatives, investors, media representatives and employees of Juice Technology. The event on the topic of cyber security and charging infrastructure took place at the recently opened “happening place” Sugar Mountain in a former concrete factory in southwest Munich.
Alongside the founder and CEO of Juice, Christoph Erni, cyber security expert Prof. Thomas R. Köhler also gave an overview of the current state of security in e-mobility. The speakers pointed out why there is still a significant need for action when it comes to cyber security in the e-mobility industry: Despite the topicality of the theme, many companies within the industry have not yet given it sufficient attention.
Juice Technology’s Bug Bounty programme invites security researchers to get involved in the identification and rectification of software bugs and rewards those who discover bugs with cash prizes. You can contact Thomas R. Köhler directly at koehler@juice-technology.com for questions and concrete tips.

JUICE WORLD

You can find more information at www.juice-world.com

JUICE WORLD CHARGING DAY

The VOD of the live stream can be found at https://youtu.be/bU0MnosxhIc

About Juice Technology

Juice Technology AG, with its headquarters in Cham (Zug, Switzerland), is a globally active manufacturer of charging solutions for electric vehicles. The company’s extensive product portfolio, with AC and DC charging stations ranging from light mobile devices through to large fast chargers, makes it one of a very small number of full-range providers in the industry. Juice has dominated the market in mobile 22 kW charging stations since 2014.

The crucial difference to other solutions available on the market is the consistent software orientation. All devices designated “J+” are based on the same processor and the same firmware, which means they are compatible with one another. Juice saves on time, effort and costs by using its own consistent software architecture. Solutions such as omni-dynamic load management, payment by credit card or the open interface backend are therefore available throughout the product range.

The Juice Group has global reach with its own sites, subsidiaries and affiliates. Juice Services AG, Juice Telemetrics AG, Juice Europe GmbH in Germany with a subsidiary in Munich, Juice Iberia S.L. in Malaga, Zhejiang Juice Technology Co., Ltd in Hangzhou, China and Juice Americas Inc. in St. Petersburg, FL, USA are part of the group of companies. It also has a global network of resellers. More than 170 people currently work in the research and development, production, marketing, administration, purchasing and sales, and logistics departments.

You can find more information about the company, the products and solutions at www.juice-technology.com.
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