Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming popular due to their efficiency, eco-friendliness, and the increasing cost of fossil fuel. EVs support a variety of apps because they house powerful processors and allow for increased connectivity. This makes them an attractive target of stealthy cryptomining mal...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/16/5773 |
| _version_ | 1797445845116780544 |
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| author | Asad Waqar Malik Zahid Anwar |
| author_facet | Asad Waqar Malik Zahid Anwar |
| author_sort | Asad Waqar Malik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming popular due to their efficiency, eco-friendliness, and the increasing cost of fossil fuel. EVs support a variety of apps because they house powerful processors and allow for increased connectivity. This makes them an attractive target of stealthy cryptomining malware. Recent incidents demonstrate that both the EV and its communication model are vulnerable to cryptojacking attacks. The goal of this research is to explore the extent to which cryptojacking impacts EVs in terms of recharging and cost. We assert that while cryptojacking provides a financial advantage to attackers, it can severely degrade efficiency and cause battery loss. In this paper we present a simulation model for connected EVs, the cryptomining software, and the road infrastructure. A novel framework is proposed that incorporates these models and allows an objective quantification of the extent of this economic damage and the advantage to the attacker. Our results indicate that batteries of infected cars drain more quickly than those of normal cars, forcing them to return more frequently to the charging station for a recharge. When just 10% of EVs are infected we observed 70.6% more refueling requests. Moreover, if the hacker infects a charging station then he can make a USD 436.4 profit per day from just 32 infected EVs. Overall, our results demonstrate that cryptojackers injected into EVs indirectly provide a financial advantage to the charging stations at the cost of an increased energy strain on society. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:31:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e55df1268f714390a9535f1a5b87766d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:31:39Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-e55df1268f714390a9535f1a5b87766d2023-11-30T21:17:20ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-08-011516577310.3390/en15165773Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric VehiclesAsad Waqar Malik0Zahid Anwar1Department of Computing, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad 44000, PakistanDepartment of Computer Science, North Dakota State University (NDSU), Fargo, ND 58105, USAElectric vehicles (EVs) are becoming popular due to their efficiency, eco-friendliness, and the increasing cost of fossil fuel. EVs support a variety of apps because they house powerful processors and allow for increased connectivity. This makes them an attractive target of stealthy cryptomining malware. Recent incidents demonstrate that both the EV and its communication model are vulnerable to cryptojacking attacks. The goal of this research is to explore the extent to which cryptojacking impacts EVs in terms of recharging and cost. We assert that while cryptojacking provides a financial advantage to attackers, it can severely degrade efficiency and cause battery loss. In this paper we present a simulation model for connected EVs, the cryptomining software, and the road infrastructure. A novel framework is proposed that incorporates these models and allows an objective quantification of the extent of this economic damage and the advantage to the attacker. Our results indicate that batteries of infected cars drain more quickly than those of normal cars, forcing them to return more frequently to the charging station for a recharge. When just 10% of EVs are infected we observed 70.6% more refueling requests. Moreover, if the hacker infects a charging station then he can make a USD 436.4 profit per day from just 32 infected EVs. Overall, our results demonstrate that cryptojackers injected into EVs indirectly provide a financial advantage to the charging stations at the cost of an increased energy strain on society.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/16/5773connected vehiclescryptojackingbattery lifefinancial impact |
| spellingShingle | Asad Waqar Malik Zahid Anwar Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric Vehicles Energies connected vehicles cryptojacking battery life financial impact |
| title | Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric Vehicles |
| title_full | Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric Vehicles |
| title_fullStr | Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric Vehicles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric Vehicles |
| title_short | Do Charging Stations Benefit from Cryptojacking? A Novel Framework for Its Financial Impact Analysis on Electric Vehicles |
| title_sort | do charging stations benefit from cryptojacking a novel framework for its financial impact analysis on electric vehicles |
| topic | connected vehicles cryptojacking battery life financial impact |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/16/5773 |
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