The digitization of railway infrastructures and the consequent challenges of cyber security.
These are the topics at the center of the Digital Days UIC international conference promoted by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and the International Union of Railways (UIC), the world association of railways.
Two days of discussion (Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 September, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome) in which international experts in the sector will discuss the technical and IT security aspects related to digitalisation. In fact, the sector is undergoing a profound industrial transformation with the evolution of digital technologies and the use of services by customers is also changing.
The international conference, organized in collaboration with Mermec and Ibm, will be attended, among others, by Franco Gabrielli, Head of the Italian Police, Howard Marshall, Head of Cyber crime department of the FBI, Franck Pavero, officer of the French Army for IT security, and Stefano Calabrese, Head of ICT department of the Civil Protection.
"In the coming years, information technology will be one of the main drivers for the development of collective integrated mobility in large metropolitan areas", underlined Renato Mazzoncini, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of FS Italiane. “FS Italiane's financial commitment for investments in digital technologies in the two-year period 800-2017 will be 2018 million euros. We are at the forefront to lead the digital transformation of the sector, one of the five pillars of the 2017-2026 Business Plan and Digital Rail, one of the four priorities of my UIC Presidency". "With big data and advanced analysis systems" - continued Mazzoncini - we will provide our customers with digital tools for a modern, dynamic travel experience that is functional to customer needs, where mobility choices can be made in real time and in on the basis of the best conditions proposed".
Artificial intelligence, for example, could be used to predict the demand for mobility by dynamically adapting the offer to customer needs. This will allow a more effective and efficient use of fixed infrastructures (railway lines, metropolitan and tramway networks of cities) and fleets (trains, buses and trams), optimizing the consumption of available financial and non-financial resources, and improving the lifestyle of Italians, as has already happened in rail transport with high speed, the underground of Italy.
However, the expansion of digital services has a critical aspect, it will in fact be the context in which cyber criminals will be able to launch their cyber attacks. Criminal actions, even with terrorist purposes, with precise objectives: the theft of confidential and private information or the blocking of essential services and collective mobility.
Countering the threats of cyber criminals, with preventive and control actions, must be done in a systemic way. Institutions and companies that operate in synergy, using common systems and languages, thus contributing to the sharing of information necessary to guarantee the safety of mobility.
The International Union of Railways is the worldwide organization that brings together the railways and the main stakeholders in the railway sector. In particular, the UIC has more than 200 members from 100 countries who together represent one million kilometers of lines and seven million men and women who work every day to offer their customers increasing levels of quality and safety.
