OCPP Protocol in the Smart Charging Era: Formal Verification of Security-Related Use Cases through ProVerif Analysis.

Analisi di sicurezWith the growing adoption of electric vehicles and the definition of the Agenda 2030 goals, the demand for efficient charging infrastructure has significantly increased. The need for secure and reliable communication between Charging Stations (CS) and Charging Stations Management System (CSMS) is crucial for the digitalisation and management of the charging process. From the study of the landscape of protocols proposed for this purpose, the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) has emerged as the de facto standard for communication between charging stations and management systems. Accordingly, the thesis work proceeded examining the evolution and key characteristics of the OCPP protocol, developed by the Open Charge Alliance (OCA) to enable interoperability and smart features in EV charging networks. As the electric vehicle infrastructure expands, so do concerns over the security and trustworthiness of communication systems: vulnerabilities in the charging infrastructure could lead to potential cyber-attacks. The security of charging transactions data exchange is, therefore, of paramount importance. This study focused on OCPP’s use cases most relevant to security, with emphasis on direct manipulation of security parameters. The Formal Verification of these use cases is carried out through the modelling of data exchange, authentication security profiles, and cryptographic algorithms, using the ProVerif formal prover to analyse and validate the security properties such as Confidentiality, Integrity and Authentication of the Charging Station (CS) to the Charging Station Management System (CSMS) communication protocol. This thesis provides a detailed examination of the use cases and their associated security measures, ultimately confirming that the OCPP protocol ensures secure communication in the studied scenarios, contributing to the goal of a safe and sustainable e-mobility ecosystem.za di protocolli V2X