Alpitronic: How the charging station manufacturer protects its Hyperchargers from cyberattacks
Charging infrastructure is becoming an attractive target for cybercriminals. Charging station manufacturer Alpitronic has already observed attacks on authentication processes and charging operations, and is strengthening its defenses accordingly. “The entire ecosystem represents a potential attack surface,” says CMO Wolfgang Ademmer in an interview with electrive at icnc26 in Berlin. Ademmer explains in the video interview why the company also hires hackers to attack its own hyperchargers.
Images of cut charging cables are now familiar to everyone. In contrast, the dangers arising from the digital aspect of charging infrastructure are far less visible. For Alpitronic, this is precisely a key issue: As the number of connected charging stations increases, so does the potential attack surface — and thus the importance of a consistent cybersecurity strategy for the entire charging infrastructure. “Software-based threats are hard to detect. They usually occur in the background and remain very difficult to identify,” says Ademmer in a video interview with electrive’s editor-in-chief, Peter Schwierz.
Communication channels as weak points
The risk cannot be reduced to a single component. Attacks could potentially originate anywhere communication takes place within the system — from RFID cards and vehicle communications to cables and network connections. “In essence, the entire ecosystem becomes a potential attack surface,” says Ademmer. For Alpitronic, this means not only securing its own hardware but also involving partners and other stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Alpitronic has not recently observed any large-scale attacks on entire charging network systems. The current reality consists more of so-called low-level attacks. Ademmer specifically cites fraud cases where charging cards or access data are copied to draw power at the expense of others. At the same time, he warns against underestimating the problem: the increasing use of AI could significantly multiply attacks, thereby raising the risk of larger assaults on Alpitronic’s hyperchargers.
Alpitronic allows hackers to attack charging stations
Alpitronic therefore tries to anticipate attackers as early as possible. The company has its own red team that attacks its products itself, organizes hackathons with partners — and goes a step further. “We also take on the ultimate challenge, so to speak: we submit our products to external hackathons where hacking is done for a prize,” explains Ademmer. Earlier this year, hackers managed to play the first-person shooter game “Doom” on an Alpitronic charging station during such an external competition. The goal of collaborating with hackers is to identify vulnerabilities before others do.
A particular challenge is the long lifespan of charging infrastructure. According to Ademmer, these assets need to be economically viable for ten years or more. Accordingly, security must also be ensured over this period. “Our responsibility is to maintain functionality and resilience throughout their lifespan,” says the Alpitronic manager. Software updates and hardware designed accordingly are crucial for this.
A failure could hit electric trucks hard
The growing importance of this issue is also evident from the increasing number of electric vehicles and charging stations. According to Ademmer, Europe now has around seven million battery-electric vehicles and more than 200,000 DC charging stations. A major outage could therefore have consequences that extend far beyond individual mobility — especially considering electrified freight transport. “An outage would be significant,” says Ademmer. Recently, Alpitronic expanded its megawatt-level HYC1000 charging system with a compact dispenser for use in depots of electric bus and truck fleets, showing clear focus on the aforementioned electrified freight transport.
In the video interview, you will also learn:
- how Alpitronic plans to detect attacks on individual charging stations in real time
You can watch the full interview with Alpitronic manager Wolfgang Ademmer above the article in our video player or on YouTube.