The Interstate Information Network, which unites the national centres of the railways of the Commonwealth of Independent states, has successfully withstood the biggest virus attack in history, which just recently affected the whole world.
Anatoly Krasnoshchek, First Vice President of Russian Railways, made an announcement to this effect on 18 May 2017 during his address to the 66th Session of the Council for Railway Transport of the State Parties of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which was held in Moscow.
Krasnoshchek noted that the virus attack led to the disabling of electronic systems of several hundred thousand users around the world. Tens of thousands of computers were affected in Russia.
“Russian Railways also failed to avoid this global cyber attack. But due to the professionalism of our IT experts and our immediate administrative and management solutions, we suffered no serious failures in the technological process. The well-coordinated work of our employees on the traffic and information sides at the RZD Holding made it possible to prevent a potential stop to train movement and the operation of the Company’s information infrastructure,” said Anatoly Krasnoshchek.
The common information space covers all the national computer centres of the Commonwealth’s railways. The Information and Computing Centre of Railway Administrations (ICC RA) coordinates their activities. Data exchange allows the collection of operational and statistical reporting and ensures the operation of an automated databank of wagons and containers, the passenger transportation management system and the electronic seat reservation system Express-3.
Based on ICC RA data, mutual settlements are also made between the railways for the services they provide to each other.
“Considering that our railways work in direct contact, I consider it necessary to instruct the Council’s Commission on Informatisation to study the cooperation between our railways under conditions of possible massive cyber attacks,” said Anatoly Krasnoshchek.
