About John Boss Consulting B.V.
2024 marks thirteen (!) years of successfully delivering assignments for John Boss Consulting B.V.
Cyber security, Project definition, procurement and delivery are strong themes across many of the assignments.
The assignments have been interesting, challenging and diverse. Highlights include:
- ProRail / Dutch MoT - Cyber security advisor for Dutch ERTMS programme
- Dutch MoT - Railway SOC, vision and roadmap
- ProRail - ERTMS cyber security: proof of concept
- European Commission - Cyber program deliverables evaluation
- Manila - Establishing a PPP project for a new metro through the city
- Schiphol Airport Amsterdam -Securing Systems Integration capability for a new Terminal and Pier
- Amsterdam - Rescuing systems projects on the metro
- London Crossrail- Reviewing troubled projects, evaluating systems integration readiness and Schedule Assurance Reviews
Signalling and Cyber Security
Ongoing digitalisation in the railway industry is leading to an increase in both the attack surface as well as the potential impact of attacks. The cyber security challenges for railways are complicated by the use of OT (Operational Technology) and the need for systems safety. Applying IT standards to OT leaves holes. Explaining how railways (and safety cases) work to IT people is problematic at best. Cyber security within the railway OT environment needs first an understanding of the railway.
John understands railways. He graduated (cum laude) for a master’s degree in Cyber Security in a programme jointly run by Leiden University and Technical University Delft. His final year research project was on the subject of “Railway Signalling and Cyber Security”. The research project examined an application of cyber security for OT, and railway signalling. The project included reviewing NIST, IEC 62443-x-x, ISO 2700x standards, conducting risk analysis, developing a reference security architecture and evaluating application of relevant laws and directives to define a workable application of cyber security within signalling disciplines and railway OT environment.
The essence was approaching cyber security from the perspective of railway OT.
