Ukrainian railways system failure caused by large-scale cyberattack, recovery ongoing

The systems failure experienced by Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian railways) on 23 March was the result of a large-scale targeted cyberattack. The restoration of all systems has continued throughout the past day and remains ongoing.

Source: Ukrzaliznytsia press service

Quote: "The enemy failed to achieve its main objective: train traffic is stable, services are running on schedule without delays and all operational processes are functioning in backup mode. The railway keeps moving despite physical attacks on its infrastructure – and it won’t be stopped by the most despicable cyberattacks either!"

Details: The company explained that, as Ukrzaliznytsia had previously been a target of cyberattacks by the Russians, backup protocols had already been put in place.

The most recent attack was described as highly systemic, sophisticated and multi-layered. Before fully restoring from backups, specialists from Ukrzaliznytsia, various partner organisations and the cyber department of Ukraine’s Security Service are conducting thorough testing of services to identify any potential vulnerabilities.

Online ticket sales remain unavailable for now, and the company plans to continue operating in offline mode throughout the day.

Background: On 23 March, Ukrzaliznytsia reported a technical failure in its IT system. Ticket sales via the app and website, as well as online service booking and support, became unavailable. The company reinforced staffing at station ticket offices with additional employees.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!