USE CASE: Dual Threat to Rail Infrastructure – Flooding and Sabotage at Central Rail Hub

USE CASE: Dual Threat to Rail Infrastructure – Flooding and Sabotage at Central Rail Hub (Part 9 of our CER Series)

Sector: Transport

Entity: EuroRail Logistics – a pan-European railway operator responsible for critical freight and passenger corridors

Threats:

• Natural Hazard: Flash flood affecting a major switching yard and signal center

• Man-made Threat: Simultaneous cyber-physical sabotage of signalling software and track switching systems

The Incident: Midnight Convergence of Chaos

At 03:12 AM, heavy rains overwhelm flood defenses at Rotterdam Freight & Control Terminal, submerging the main control building and disrupting track power systems.

Meanwhile, at 03:17 AM, a concurrent cyber intrusion disables digital signals on three inbound freight routes. Investigators later discover unauthorized firmware updates injected into switching relays. Two passenger trains are halted on active tracks and several freight loads carrying hazardous materials are left uncontrolled.

Immediate Actions by the CRO and CISO

CRO: Anna Lefèvre (Reports to the CEO)

• Activates Emergency Response Protocols across logistics, safety, and engineering teams.

• Declares Tier 1 National Disruption and triggers CER reporting flow to national transport and resilience authorities.

• Orders the physical evacuation of affected zones and reroutes cargo traffic to unaffected nodes.

• Coordinates with local emergency services for flood containment and public safety.

• Leads a real-time crisis room briefing with operations, legal, cyber, and communications units.

CISO: Tobias Neumann (Reports to CRO)

• Isolates infected subsystems and disables network access to affected relay controllers.

• Launches forensic analysis with SIEM tools to trace intrusion vector (later attributed to compromised contractor VPN credentials).

• Coordinates with the national CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team).

• Provides continuous technical briefings to the CRO, enabling informed decision-making.

• Initiates recovery protocols to clean, validate, and reflash affected devices.

Cross-Functional Coordination (within 6 hours)

Aftermath & Lessons Learned

What Went Well

• CRO-led coordination ensured seamless alignment between physical, digital, and human response.

• Predefined CER workflows allowed fast incident reporting and external authority engagement.

• Cyber-physical separation protocols limited cascade failure.

What Was Improved

• Contractor access protocols tightened using zero-trust principles.

• Flood defense zones digitally integrated into SCADA monitoring.

• Business continuity plans expanded with dual-risk scenarios.

Key Takeaways

• CER Directive compliance saved lives and protected national supply chains.

• The CRO provided the strategic oversight, while the CISO ensured cyber containment.

• The case validates that in modern rail infrastructure, resilience is not a siloed function — it’s an integrated, executive-level capability.