Building Railway Resilience through Security-Enhancing Digital Twins

The integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in the railway industry has significantly enhanced several critical aspects. These include the reliability, maintainability, operational efficiency, capacity, and passenger comfort. However, this adoption also introduces new vulnerabilities, providing potential entry points for malicious actors to launch cyber attacks.

Furthermore, conducting comprehensive testing on railway infrastructure poses practical challenges. For instance, it is difficult to simulate high-risk scenarios, such as cyber attacks that could lead to collisions or derailments, without disrupting regular operations.

In light of these considerations, an upcoming PhD project at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden aims to explore whether security-enhancing digital twins can provide a safe and cost-effective solution to these challenges. To ensure practical relevance, we are actively seeking a collaborative partner with expertise in the railway domain (additional information provided below).

Use cases examples for security-enhancing digital twins:

Security Analysis and Risk Assessment​, Security Testing and Certification, Training​, Forensics​, Intrusion detection, Response, Deception, Patch Management​, Data gathering.

Looking for:

• Organisation active in the railway domain and would use these results in their own work.

• Organisation willing to share the data required to achieve successful project results.

Interested and want to know more? Please contact: aria.mirzai@ri.se