EV-IRP Manager: An Electric Vehicle Incident Response Playbook Manager and Visualizer Toolkit

Alpdag, Kerem; Moradpoor, Naghmeh; Hasina Andriambelo, Ny; Wooderson, Paul; Maglaras, Leandros

Abstract

In the rapidly evolving realm of electric vehicle technology, safeguarding the cybersecurity of both electric vehicles and their charging infrastructure has become fundamental. The integration of electric vehicles and their charging stations into the broader grid introduces complex cybersecurity challenges, necessitating robust incident response strategies. Traditional cybersecurity playbooks often fall short in addressing the unique vulnerabilities associated with electric vehicles and their charging systems. The lack of publicly available community playbooks tailored to these needs leaves the electric vehicle ecosystem vulnerable to cyber threats that could compromise user privacy, vehicle functionality, and grid stability. In response to this, the project undertakes the creation of a foundational playbook for electric vehicle and electric vehicle charging station incident response, addressing a significant void in current cybersecurity practices. This paper introduces a Playbook Manager and Visualizer application, called EV-IRP, designed to enable users to upload, manage, and visualize electric vehicle and electric vehicle charging station incident response playbooks efficiently. Utilizing Python, Tkinter for GUI development, SQLite for database management, and Graphviz for visualization, the application facilitates a dynamic and responsive approach to maintaining up- to-date incident response strategies. The application is expected to streamline the management of incident response playbooks through procedure visualization, enhancing the cybersecurity posture of electric vehicle infrastructure. By converting textual playbook procedures into easily understandable diagrams, it facilitates a clearer understanding of response steps among users, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency and efficacy of incident response practices. Additionally, the research and development process, informed by a comprehensive literature review, contributes to the academic and practical understanding of cybersecurity best practices for electric vehicle technologies.

Citation

Alpdag, K., Moradpoor, N., Hasina Andriambelo, N., Wooderson, P., & Maglaras, L. (2024, December). EV-IRP Manager: An Electric Vehicle Incident Response Playbook Manager and Visualizer Toolkit. Presented at SINCONF 2024: 17th International Conference on Security of Information and Networks, Online

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: SINCONF 2024: 17th International Conference on Security of Information and Networks
• Start Date: Dec 2, 2024
• End Date: Dec 4, 2024
• Acceptance Date: Sep 20, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Feb 13, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025
• Deposit Date: Sep 23, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 13, 2025
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: 2024 17th International Conference on Security of Information and Networks (SIN)
• ISBN: 979-8-3315-0974-3
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/SIN63213.2024.10871811
• Keywords: Electric Vehicle; Electric Vehicle Charging Systems; Incident Response; Cybersecurity Playbook; Visualization
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/3840893
• External URL: https://www.sinconf.org/sin2024/