Belden and Cylus partner to enhance cyber-security protection in rail

Belden, a leading global supplier of network infrastructure solutions, has announced its partnership with Cylus, the global leader in rail cyber-security, which will enable customers that use Belden’s Firewall to supplement it with an optimised version of CylusOne™ software available for license from Cylus. The combination of Belden and Cylus solutions that customers will be able to implement offers a tailored, enhanced cybersecurity platform for rail operators for both rolling stock and signaling systems.

As the rail industry continues to adopt automated, wireless, and connected technologies – both trackside and onboard – the attack surface of critical assets is greatly expanding, exposing them increasingly to malicious cyber-attacks. Rail operators must also contend with a shortage of physical space, legacy rail protocols without built-in security, and dynamic network topologies – all of which pose challenges to safeguarding onboard and wayside rail and metro systems. Without proper cyber-security, hacks have the potential to threaten rail safety, disrupt service, and cause severe economic and reputational damage.

The combined Belden and Cylus cyber-security solution is tailored specifically to signalling and rolling stock systems, combining Belden’s next-generation industrial firewall (NGFW), the EAGLE40-6M, with CylusOne, the leading cyber-security solution providing continuous monitoring and real-time protection for rolling stock and rail infrastructure. The combined solution leverages existing hardware to help ensure compliance with international rail safety and cyber-security standards.

Miki Shifman, Co-Founder and CTO of Cylus, explained: “At Cylus, our mission is to secure railways and metros throughout the world in order to protect them from increasingly complex cyber-threats. We are excited to partner with Belden, the world leader in ruggedized networking solutions and firewalls for rolling stock, to create a best-of-breed solution tailor-made for rail by enabling customers to run our CylusOne software optimized for Belden’s NGFW. This solution will provide another robust layer of protection against cyber-attacks, ensuring the safety and security of rail onboard and wayside systems.”

The added layer of CylusOne atop Belden’s NGFW provides automated and scalable security controls to enable compliance with the latest rail cyber-security standards, including CENELEC TS-50701. The combined solutions include deep packet inspection (DPI) of rail onboard and wayside protocols and provides contextual analysis, delivering both comprehensive threat detection and visibility. The platform is easily deployable in both new and existing rail technology environments.

Oliver Kleineberg, CTO of Industrial Automation and Vice President of Technology at Belden, said: “We take the safety and security of our transportation customers with the utmost seriousness, and look forward to supporting Cylus in its effort to adapt the CylusOne software so that it runs on our NGFW providing them with increased protection via this dedicated firewall developed specifically for the rail transportation market. We are thrilled to collaborate with Cylus to provide world-leading rail-specific threat detection and visibility solutions, creating a more secure future for rail by supporting Cylus’ adaptation of its CylusOne software to maximise its interoperability with Belden’s NGFW, and enabling our customers to supplement their Belden NGFW by licensing the CylusOne software from Cylus.”