Independent assurance and risk management provider DNV has announced it has been selected to provide specialised cybersecurity services for the Santiago de los Caballeros monorail system in the Dominican Republic – the Caribbean’s first.
The scope of the award covers safety-critical railway systems including signalling, train control, rolling stock and power supply, as well as supporting electromechanical and digital systems, reflecting the convergence of safety, security and operations in modern railways.
Under the terms of the contract; DNV’s rail assurance, advisory and digital services team will support the Trust for the Development of the Mass Transit System of the Dominican Republic (FITRAM) with cyber risk management services for the monorail.
For the duration of the contract period, DNV will collaborate with engineering EQP to deliver all services.
DNV’s rail team, which was recently integrated into its new Industrial Services business unit, supports customers to safely manage critical assets and address transformations in the railway sector in an effort to strengthen systems against evolving digital threats.
The new monorail has been designed to ease travel congestion for Santiago de los Caballeros’ population, as well as reduce urban commute costs by 30%.
Once completed, it will cover a length of more than 13km with 14 overground stations located across the city, with DNV cybersecurity services set to ensure that the system aligns with national and international cyber regulations and industry best practices.
Jorge Aldegunde, Global Head of Railway Services at DNV, said:The Santiago de los Caballeros monorail is a groundbreaking project that will reduce congestion in the city and bring down travel costs for commuters. It is an honour for DNV to have been chosen to provide specialised cybersecurity services for the system.
DNV’s cybersecurity expertise will contribute to a safer, more secure and resilient monorail system for Santiago de los Caballeros and we look forward to continued collaboration with the project stakeholders as we contribute to this milestone project for the region.
For its part; DNV will aim to provide independent, end-to-end cybersecurity advisory and assurance services across the project lifecycle for the Santiago de los Caballeros monorail, ensuring that systems are designed, assessed and validated with security embedded across design, construction, integration and testing phases.
This work will include the verification of critical rail subsystems, components and key electromechanical and digital systems such as ticketing, Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) and CCTV.
