Key Takeaways
- The PREVENT project, led by 23 European partners, will test cyber‑resilience of automated power supply systems at a Hanover light‑rail substation.
- The Hanover pilot will evaluate how cyber‑attacks could breach data exchange, issue unauthorised commands, and affect physical equipment, using backup batteries to maintain power during disruptions.
- Results will feed into a continent‑wide cybersecurity framework covering prevention, detection, response, and recovery for electric mobility infrastructure, including charging stations, buses, and fleet management.
- UITP will represent public‑transport operators, coordinate stakeholder engagement, and help translate findings into practical guidelines for urban rail networks.
- Simulated attack exercises will validate resilience measures, ensuring that transport power systems can continue operating or be swiftly restored to service following a cyber incident.
Project Overview and Hanover Pilot Location
The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) announced that a substation on Hanover’s light‑rail network will serve as one of four pilot sites for the PREVENT project, a European initiative aimed at bolstering cyber resilience in transport power systems. The selected substation incorporates an automated power supply system complemented by backup batteries, making it an ideal testbed for evaluating how cyber threats could disrupt energy delivery to urban rail services. By situating the experiment within a live‑operating network, researchers can observe real‑world interactions between digital controls and physical infrastructure while maintaining safety protocols.
Objectives of the PREVENT Programme
PREVENT—short for Protecting Road Electric Vehicles Ecosystem through Enhanced Cyber Resilience and Networked Threat Mitigation—seeks to create the first comprehensive European cybersecurity framework for the entire electric mobility ecosystem. Its scope spans grid connections, charging facilities, vehicles, IT platforms, and fleet‑management systems, addressing the full incident lifecycle: prevention, detection, response, and recovery. By integrating technical standards, operational procedures, and cross‑sector collaboration, the programme aims to reduce the likelihood of successful cyber attacks and to ensure that, when incidents occur, transport operators can sustain service or restore it swiftly.
Technical Focus: Attack Vectors and Data Exchange Security
The Hanover tests will concentrate on the points where attackers could infiltrate the automated power supply system, particularly the communication links between the substation, control centres, and monitoring platforms. Experts will examine the security protocols governing data exchange, looking for weaknesses that might allow unauthorized command injection or data manipulation. By mapping these attack vectors, the project intends to develop hardening measures—such as encrypted channels, authentication mechanisms, and intrusion‑detection systems—that safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of operational technology (OT) networks.
Physical Impact Analysis and Safety Mechanisms
Beyond cyber intrusion, the pilot will assess the tangible consequences of a compromised substation on physical equipment, including transformers, switchgear, and battery management units. Researchers will simulate unauthorised commands that could trigger overloads, premature shutdowns, or hazardous operating conditions. Simultaneously, they will evaluate the safety interlocks and automated shutdown routines designed to protect hardware and personnel when anomalies are detected, ensuring that protective functions activate correctly without causing unnecessary service disruption.
Role of Backup Batteries in Resilience
A central element of the Hanover substation’s design is its battery backup system, which provides an alternative power source during primary supply interruptions. The PREVENT team will test how these batteries sustain critical loads—such as signalling, lighting, and communication—when the main grid is disrupted by a cyber event. By measuring discharge rates, switching times, and state‑of‑charge stability under stress, the project aims to quantify the extent to which energy storage enhances overall resilience and reduces downtime following an attack.
Why Urban Rail Substations Are Critical Targets
Modern urban rail networks rely heavily on digitalized substations that interface with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, energy‑management platforms, and real‑time passenger information services. This connectivity increases efficiency but also expands the attack surface, making substations attractive targets for adversaries seeking to disrupt mobility, cause economic loss, or undermine public confidence. Protecting these nodes is therefore essential not only for continuous train operation but also for safeguarding the broader urban infrastructure that depends on reliable electric transit.
European Consortium Scale and Scope
The PREVENT initiative brings together 23 organisations from academia, industry, transport operators, and cybersecurity agencies across Europe. This multidisciplinary consortium enables the pooling of expertise in power engineering, OT security, software development, and policy formulation. While the programme’s primary focus lies on electric buses, car‑sharing fleets, and charging infrastructure, the Hanover pilot deliberately extends the scope to light‑rail power systems, demonstrating the framework’s applicability across different transport modes and voltage levels.
Simulation‑Based Testing and Resilience Framework
A core deliverable of PREVENT is a standardized framework for conducting simulated cyber‑attacks against transport power assets. Using controlled test environments and red‑team exercises, the consortium will evaluate how well detection tools identify anomalous behaviour, how quickly response playbooks can isolate affected components, and how effectively recovery procedures restore normal operation. The framework will also include metrics for measuring resilience—such as mean time to detect (MTTD), mean time to respond (MTTR), and availability percentages—providing operators with concrete benchmarks for security investment.
Additional Pilot Sites Across Europe
Besides the Hanover substation, PREVENT will conduct parallel pilots in Ljubljana (public charging stations), Madrid (electric‑bus depots and associated fleet‑management systems), and a yet‑to‑disclosed location in the United Kingdom (focused on rapid‑charging hubs). Each site targets a distinct segment of the electric mobility value chain, allowing the project to validate its cybersecurity recommendations under varied operational conditions, regulatory environments, and threat landscapes. Results from all four pilots will be aggregated to refine the overarching framework.
UITP’s Specific Contributions and Coordination Role
Within the PREVENT consortium, UITP acts as the voice of public‑transport operators, translating their operational needs into technical requirements and ensuring that solutions are practical for depots, garages, and on‑street infrastructure. The association will liaison with industry stakeholders, manage the project’s advisory board, and draw upon its internal cyber‑security and public‑transport committees to disseminate best practices. UITP’s outreach will also involve organizing workshops and webinars that help member agencies implement the framework’s recommendations in real‑world settings.
Expected Outcomes and Future Application
The Hanover pilot is slated to conclude with a detailed report outlining identified vulnerabilities, tested mitigation strategies, and performance data for the battery‑backed power supply under cyber stress. These findings will inform updates to European standards for OT security in rail power systems and contribute to the PREVENT-wide cybersecurity framework slated for release by 2028. Ultimately, the project aims to equip transport authorities with actionable guidelines, tools, and training that enhance the cyber resilience of electric mobility infrastructure across the continent, ensuring safer, more reliable service for millions of passengers.