“Slava Ukraini” (Glory to Ukraine) and “Putin is a dickhead” were among the inscriptions displayed by a Ukrainian firm that sells parts for electric car charging stations in Russia. On Facebook, Russian energy provider Rosseti commented, “Charging stations erected on the M-11 route was acquired in 2020 according to the results of an open purchase procedure.”
“The LLC ‘Gzhelprom’ provided the supplier” (Russia). The primary components (including the controller) are really manufactured by the Ukrainian business Autoenterprise, while the Russian supplier built an open assembly.” “A ‘bookmark’ was placed in the controller by the manufacturer, allowing him to have concealed internet access.”
According to Vice, there have been recordings showing charging stations with messages such as “GLORY TO UKRAINE / GLORY TO THE HEROES / PUTIN IS A DICKHEAD / DEATH TO THE ENEMY.” This is far from the first time Russia has been hacked. Anonymous has claimed credit for modifying Putin’s yacht’s nautical monitoring data to read “FCKPTN,” an acronym of “Putin” and the word “fuck.”
According to a Facebook post by Russian energy company Rosseti, electric vehicle charging stations along Russia’s M11 motorway, which runs from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, are not working because a Ukrainian company that provided parts for the chargers hacked them using a backdoor in the chargers’ control systems. According to the article, the chargers were obtained from a Russian business that had outsourced manufacture to AutoEnterprise, a Kharkiv-based EV charging company, which had outsourced production to a Ukrainian components supplier. The chargers had been deactivated and configured to display pro-Ukrainian slogans, according to posts on social media this morning.
The AutoEnterprise Facebook page re-posted a video captured from the M11 freeway by an Instagram user displaying the disabled charges. The chargers display an error message in English that reads “CALL SERVICE NO PLUGS AVAILABLE,” followed by further Russian messages that read “GLORY TO UKRAINE / GLORY TO THE HEROES / PUTIN IS A DICKHEAD / DEATH TO THE ENEMY.” Following the 2014 Russian invasion, the term “Putin is a dickhead” became a popular slogan in Ukraine, notably among soccer supporters in Kharkiv.
It is unclear how many chargers have been disabled, how long they’ve been showing anti-Putin messages, or how long they’ll be inaccessible? The chargers are being separated from the rest of the grid network, according to Rosseti, and will be operational again soon. A request for comment from Motherboard was not immediately returned by Rosseti or AutoEnterprise.
