Thursday, September 12, together with our partner Radiflow, a global leader in cybersecurity, we organized an event dedicated to the security of critical infrastructure, a theme that is increasingly relevant in our times. These structures are essential for ensuring the proper functioning of society’s fundamental services and the economic system of a territory, and their protection is crucial for the continuity of daily activities.

The conference was opened by G. A. Farina, President of the Itway Group, who emphasized the importance of careful management of critical infrastructure: “If not managed well, these infrastructures can lead to extremely serious problems.” Our President then highlighted a worrying statistic: “Cyberattacks on port infrastructures have increased by 135% in the last two years. This shows that the problem is real and needs to be addressed decisively.” Following this, Angelo Mazzotti, Director for Digital Transition and Environmental Sustainability and Head of ICT at the Port System Authority of the Central-Northern Adriatic Sea, underscored the urgency of raising awareness on the issue of security, stating: “The increasing digitization of ports and critical infrastructures brings with it a series of risks that we cannot ignore.”

Practical demonstration: an attack in the OT domain

Among the many significant moments of the day was the demonstration of a real attack in the OT domain, using a model representing a port hub. Francesco Faenzi, Deputy Director of Cyber Security & Resiliency at Itway, explained: “The model represents a system. When a cyberattack is developed against a critical infrastructure, such as those of ports or transportation or logistics systems for the functioning of a community, it does not only hit one element but an entire system. And when this happens, everyone is involved.”

The value of resilience and collaboration

Throughout the day, the importance of adequate preparation to face these attacks was strongly emphasized. Angelo Salice, Director of Cyber Security & Resiliency at Itway, highlighted: “The goal is to ensure that, even in the event of an attack, there is a recovery plan. This is the approach that we at Itway want to pursue: working on resilience and operational recovery plans, no matter what happens.” He added: “Doing this means investing a lot in prevention, incident management, but also in a plan B that allows us to contain incidents and restore normal operations. A cyber incident on an infrastructure has devastating impacts on the territory, so collaboration among institutions, companies, associations, and citizens is needed to prevent, manage, and restore.”

To reinforce this concept, Alberto Pagani, a Professor at the University of Bologna and Advisor in the security sector, highlighted the importance of a national strategy: “A national cybersecurity defense policy is needed, which has been implemented in recent years and is growing increasingly, aiming to make our systems more resilient and capable of counterattacking. Cyberattacks can become very dangerous for national security, and it is crucial to be ready to respond.”

Collaboration and innovation for the future

The event provided an important opportunity for discussion among experts and local companies, aiming to explore innovative solutions to prevent and mitigate cyber threats. Radiflow, represented by David Moss, Vice President EMEA & LATAM Radiflow, and Mario Esposito, Regional Sales Engineering, presented its advanced technologies for the protection of critical infrastructures, highlighting how the evolution of threats requires continuous updates to defenses and a proactive response.

It was a moment of sharing to underscore the importance of synergistic collaboration between the public and private sectors. Protecting critical infrastructures is a collective challenge that requires the commitment of everyone to ensure the security and resilience of the systems on which our society relies.

A special thanks also goes to the Port System Authority of the Central-Northern Adriatic Sea, ART-ER, and CLUSTER ER-INNOVATE, whose support was essential for the realization of this moment of discussion.

Relive the conference at the Port of Ravenna on the Security of Critical Infrastructures: