Rail ROUNDTABLE

Balancing Resilience and Innovation: Cybersecurity & AI in Rail

BETWEEN RESILIENCE AND INNOVATION: CYBERSECURITY AND AI IN THE RAIL SECTOR

Resilience, cyber security, and AI are usually treated as separate topics in the rail industry. In practice they are connected. The first reporting obligations under the Cyber Resilience Act have applied since 11 September 2026, AI is moving into diagnostics and maintenance, and control over a vehicle’s software rarely sits with a single company.

Our Rail Roundtable brings these topics together. Our Rail Pulse Check shows where the industry actually stands. Prof. Dr. Christian T. Haas, chair of the VDV research committee, speaks on resilience across transport networks and what holds up once an attack has already happened. And members of Dragon Sector, one of the world’s leading security research teams, present a case study on what can be hidden in a train’s control software.

12.11.2026

Thursday

4:30 pm

CET

Munich

H&Z Headquarters

AGENDA

16:30 Arrival and welcome
16:45 Rail Pulse Check H2/2026: results and findings
17:15 When the Network Is Hit: Resilience Across Organisations and Transport Modes
Prof. Dr. Christian T. Haas
17:40 What’s in the code when nobody looks: Michał Kowalczyk and Sergiusz Bazański, Dragon Sector, on their analysis of a train’s control software and the vulnerabilities it revealed
18:10 Fishbowl discussion
19:15 Get-together with drinks and finger food

SPEAKER

Michał “Redford” Kowalczyk

Security Researcher and Vice Captain, Dragon Sector

Michał Kowalczyk, known in the security community as "Redford", is vice-captain of Dragon Sector and specialises in reverse engineering and low-level security. He presented his analysis of the train control software at 37C3 and 38C3.

Sergiusz “q3k” Bazański

Hardware- and Systems-Security-Researcher, Dragon Sector

Sergiusz Bazański, known in the security community as "q3k", works at the intersection of hardware, networking, and embedded systems. He founded the Warsaw Hackerspace and is a member of Dragon Sector.

Prof. Dr. Christian T. Haas

Chairman of the Board, Society for Digitalisation and Behavioural Research | CoDiVe

Prof. Dr. Christian T. Haas is Chairman of the Board of the Society for Digitalisation and Behavioural Research | CoDiVe and founding director of the Institute for Complex Systems Research. He chairs the research committee of the German Association of Transport Companies (VDV), serves on the AI Board of UITP, and advises ministries and armed forces in Germany and across Europe.

HOSTS

Katharina Kleinlein

Senior Project Manager

For more than 12 years, Katharina has advised technology-driven organisations across product and portfolio management, engineering and R&D, combining analytical depth from quantum physics.

Dr. Roman Bauer

Senior Partner

As Partner at H&Z with more than 30 years of experience in industry and consulting, I support the railway industry in turning complexity into opportunity – from digital transformation and new business models to driving sustainability.

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Jule Hiller

Senior Expert Events

Jule is behind our client events and webinars. If you want to meet our team in person or compare notes with peers from your industry, she will point you to the right format.