Russian cyberattack disrupts Ukrainian Railways operation

On March 23, the systems of Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia} failed due to a large-scale targeted cyberattack. The restoration of all systems lasted all day and is currently ongoing.

The company reported this. 

"The enemy failed to do the key thing: the movement of trains is stable, they run clearly without delays, and all operational movement processes have been debugged in a backup format. The railway continues to move despite physical attacks on the infrastructure, and it cannot be stopped even by the most vile cyberattacks!" the message says.

The company explains that since Ukrzaliznytsia has previously become the object of cyberattacks by the enemy, the company has implemented backup protocols.

The latest attack was systemic, non-trivial, and multi-level. Therefore, before a full recovery from "backups," specialists from Ukrainian Railways, many involved partners, and the cybersecurity department of the Security Service of Ukraine must thoroughly test the services for possible vulnerabilities.

Currently, online ticket sales remain unavailable, and the company plans to work offline on this day.

For those planning trips after the morning flights on March 25:

• Passengers are urged not to rush to ticket offices today, as priority service will be given to those with departures today or tomorrow.
• Ukrzaliznytsia assures that updates will be provided once online services are restored.

The company reminds passengers that tickets are currently available exclusively through ticket offices, which have been reinforced with additional staff and extended hours. Tickets for international flights on March 24 and 25 will also be sold at these offices despite previously being available only online.

For those unable to buy tickets at the ticket office, it's advised to head straight to the train, where train crews will be available to issue tickets on-site.

Moreover, Ukrzaliznytsia urged passengers not to overwhelm ticket offices on March 24 if their travel is scheduled for later than the morning of March 25. Priority service will be given to those with imminent departures.

Passengers wishing to return a ticket for a March 24 train can do so online at least an hour before departure. To process the return, send a scanned copy or clear photo of the ticket and a contact phone number to services.uz.gov.ua@gmail.com. Once systems are operational again, the return application will be processed within three days.

For reference:

Within the framework of the implementation of the joint project "Emergency Support for Ukrainian Railways" with the EBRD, the national carrier will receive 10 modern battery shunting tractors.

Also, on February 27, Ukrzaliznytsia launched the first children's car in international traffic – as part of train No. 351 Kyiv – Chisinau.

Additionally, JSC Ukrzaliznytsia has commenced production of R-65 rail pads at its facilities, previously manufactured only at the Azovstal steelworks.

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