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

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.