By Joseph M. Calisi ©2022 All Rights Reserved
Rome, Italy, March 31, 2022
On Wednesday, March 23, the entire Italian State Railways (FS) and its subsidiaries Trenitalia and Italian Rail Network (RFI) were hit with a major ransomware cyber-attack that effectively disabled their entire network. Arrival and departure boards froze and information could not be updated. Also affected were disruptions at station ticket sales and affected railway staff tablets.
As a result, all trains were suspended beginning on March 23rd.
Trains did begin to move the next day on March 24th with conductors collecting fares manually without the onboard penalty charge.
An investigation was launched by the Rome Prosecutor’s Office into the attack, and FS is working with Italy’s national cyber security agency and the police to try to identify the attacker.