Imagine ek Electric Vehicle (EV) ko connected highway par drive kar rahe ho. Sab kuch smart hai, efficient hai, or car continiously cloud systems, chargers or sensors se baat kar rahi hai.
Ab imagine karo ki same vehicle suddenly speed increase kar de ya slow ho jaaye, sirf isliye because kisi malicious command ne motor controller tak pahunch bana li.
Aaj ke software defined mobility ecosystem mein, jo cheez pehle science fiction lagti thi, wo ab real concern banti ja rahi hai.
Nowdays modern EVs ka powertrain basically ek cyber physical system ban chuka hai, jahan vehicle ki movement software control karte hai. Jab code or current itna close connected hote hai, so kuch new type ke vulnerabilities aa jaate hai jo upar se show nahi hote hidden rehte hai. OEMs ne telematics or infotainment systems ko kaafi had tak secure kar liya hai, but powertrain abhi bhi ek open frontier jaisa hai, jahan ek minor cyber issue bhi real world safety ya performance problems create kar sakte hai.
What's being kept hidden?
Nowdays telematics or OTA (over the air) updates ki wajah se vehicle ka motor controller battery management system (BMS), car ke internal network or cloud se hamesha connected rehta hai. Iska benefit ye hota hai ki software updates easily mil jaate hai, performance better hoti haior vehicle khud hi predict kar leti hai ki kab maintenance chahiye,
But problem ye hai ki jitni zyada connectivity, unte zyada security risks. Means har new connection ek possible entry point ban sakta hai hackers ke liye. Theoretically, agar koi hacker dealer portal, cloud system ya OTA update system tak access le le, then wo motor controller ko wrong code send kar sakta hai. Wo torque output change kar sakta hai, regenerative braking off kar sakta hai, ya inverter ke functions ke saath tampered ka sakta hai.
Aur ye sirf data leak jaisa issue nahi hota, iska real physical effect hota hai. Wrong instruction se vehicle suddenly fast ho sakti hai, power suddenly cut ho sakti hai, ya system overheat kar sakta hai, jo directly dangerous hai. Researchers ne already prove kiya hai ki aise attacks possible hai, jaise fake CAN (Controller Area Network) signals send ya firmware modify karke vehicle ke movement ko door se control karna.
Why is it important?
Past kuch years mein yeh clearly dikh gaya hai ki automotive industry cyber attacks ke liye kaafi vulnerable hai.
2024 mein Kia ke connected car portal mein ek API security flaw nikla tha, jiske through bina permission ke remote commands send kiya ja sakte the. Saath hi criminals ne cheap keyless entry gadgets use karke Hyundai or Kia cars ko hijack kar liya, yeh prove karta hai ki minor security weakness bhi kitni badi problem ban sakti hai. (Aisa hi ek case Delhi mein bhi hua tha agar aapko yaad na ho so uska link ye raha Hyundai Creta stolen in Delhi under 60 sec)
Phir early 2025 mein Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) ko UK mein ek massive cyber attack face karna pada, jisme unke IT systems or logistics disturb ho gaye. Cars directly affect nahi hui, but production stop karni padi or software updates delay ho gaye. Isse yeh clear hota hai ki backend systems sirf operations hi nahi, rather vehicle safety ke liye bhi bahut important hote hai.
Upstream security ki recent Global Automotive Cybersecurity report ke according, mobility sector mein cyber attacks last year ke comparison mein mein almost one-third increase hue hai. Kaafi attacks suppliers, telematics platform or charging network par hue, jo digital networks or vehicle ke control systems ke between ek important link hote hai. In incidents se clearly pata chalta hai ki automotive industry mein cybersecurity kitni important ho gayi hai, because agar in connected systems mein weakness ho, then uska impact kaafi wide ho sakta hai. That's why sabhi stakeholders ko cybersecurity ko priority deni chahiye, so that connected vehicles safe or reliable rahen.
What do you want to protect?
EV motor or inverter ko safe rakhne ke liye end to end strategy chahiye, jisme hardware, networks, supply chain or daily operations sab cover ho.
Hardware level pe secure boot or digitally signed firmware ensure karte hai ki sirf trusted code hi run ho. HSM (Hardware security modules) encryption keys ko protect karte hai so that koi unhe tamper na ka sake.
Car ke cabin powertrain systems ko infotainment or ecternal interfaces se different domain mein work karna chahiye. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) torque commands or communication patterns ko continuously monitor karein, so that koi unusual behavior instantly catch kiya ja sake.
Supply chain ki security bhi utni hi important hai. OTA updates, telematics systems or service portals mein strong authentication or detailes logging honi chahiye, because compromised credentials abhi bhi attacks ka common entry point hote hai.
Car se baat karne wali sirf verified entities hi honi chahiye, iske liye EV chargers or Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) systems ko mutual authentication use karna chahiye.
Aur last mein, vehicles mein safe fallback modes hone chahiye. jsiae hi koi suspicious activity detect ho, torque instantly reduce ho jaye ya affected subsystem isolate ho jaye. Isse cyber attack safety risk banne se pehle hi ruk jaata hai.
Moving towards a safe future
Jaise-jaise electric mobility advance hogi, waise-waise cybersecurity or physical safety ka connection or strong hota ja raha hai. Kia ke API issue ya JLR ke cyber disruption jaise cases prove karte hai ki minor security lapse bhi operations ko kaafi affect kar sakti hai or public ka trust broken ho sakta hai. Future EVs cities ke infrastructure, power grids or residential systems ke saath deeply connected hogi, jo innovation to increase karenge, but saath hi cyber risk bhi. Tha's why inverters or motor controllers jaise critical systems ko secure rakhna bahut important hai, so that mobility safe, reliable or smart bani rahe.