Making Highways Smarter and Safer: How Simulations Help Fight Cyber Threats

The way we travel is changing. Highways aren’t just roads anymore; they’re smart, connected systems designed to keep traffic flowing and people safe. But as these systems become more advanced, they also become more vulnerable to cyber threats that could put both national infrastructure and public safety at risk. 

National Highways, the organisation responsible for managing motorways and major roads across the UK, knows how real these risks are. To stay prepared, they’ve teamed up with the Cyber Innovation Hub. Together, they are using real-world cyber simulations to train teams and build stronger defences against potential threats.

The Problem: Protecting highways in a digital age

From roadside sensors and traffic lights to communication units and control centres, today’s highways are powered by connected technology. These systems offer huge benefits; but they also open the door to cyber-attacks.

The big question was: How could National Highways test their systems against these risks without causing disruptions to actual traffic?

The Solution: Immersive cyber simulations 

As part of their Cyber Futures Programme, National Highways worked with the Cyber Innovation Hub, WSP, and their own innovation team to design a virtual cyber incident response exercise. In a simulated cyber space, Cyber Innovation Hub built a virtual model of a connected highway system including roads, gantrys and moving vehicles. The virtual highway was developed to play out a collision of vehicles and a cyber attack on the digital gantry signs – showing the “X” symbol above a closed lane being changed to a numeric speed limit value – leading to confusion, and further vehicles issues on the roads.  This empowered the security, safety and roadside operations teams at National Highways and WSP experience how a cyber-attack might unfold, and practice responding to it in real time.  

Alongside the virtual highway scenario, the teams were able to sit in a physical driving simulator that brought to life various types of disruptions to the vehicle as they were driving it – for instance, taking control of the steering and removing the ability to brake – to raise awareness of the complexity and issues associated with connected vehicles. 

During the session, participants saw the ripple effect of a cyber-attack unfolding on roadside systems. They worked together across departments to find practical solutions to stop the attack and develop practical ways to respond in real time. 

Keith explained how valuable this approach has been: 

“We have collaborated with the Cyber Innovation Hub, utilising their immersive testbed facilities to represent future digital highways, allowing us to simulate and analyse potential cyber-attacks in a controlled setting. This hands-on approach has been instrumental in enhancing our understanding of threat management and response strategies across various departments in the business.”

Why simulations are important 

These simulation spaces give organisations the chance to mirror their real-world systems, test how threats would play out, and practice handling cyber threats in a safe and controlled environment. For National Highways, this meant: 

• Understanding the impact of cyber incidents on public safety 
• Examining response times and coordination under pressure 
• Encouraging teamwork between technical and operational teams 
• Embedding cyber awareness across the organisation 

 “The success of our cybersecurity initiatives hinges on the collective effort of our entire organisation. From road operation teams and safety units to our digital infrastructure specialists, each member plays a crucial role in fortifying our defences. Cyber innovation hub’s immersive testbed enabled us to foster a culture of collaboration and continuous learning, increasing awareness of the impact of cyber incidents and helping us ensure that everyone is equipped to identify and mitigate potential threats”. Keith added. 

Learning New Skills Along the Way 

To build on this learning, key team members also took part in workshops built around the Cyber Innovation Hub’s Applied Foundations of OT Cybersecurity course, a bitesize, hands-on training session focused on protecting operational technology. 

“The Cyber Innovation Hub’s Applied Foundations of OT Cybersecurity was a great package which really developed our understanding of OT and security control requirements. The package was well-paced, really well-delivered, and allowed us to get hands-on experience, consolidating our learning. I’m looking forward to future packages with the Hub to build upon this solid foundation.” – Tom O’Driscoll, Head of Security Operations and Intelligence at National Highways. 

This training complements the simulations, ensuring that knowledge is turned into practical skills. 

Looking to the future 

The combination of realistic simulations and practical training is helping National Highways turn knowledge into real-world action.  

National Highways is committed to embedding cyber awareness across every department; from road operations and safety teams to digital infrastructure specialists. With support from Cyber Innovation Hub, they’re creating an organisation that is not only digitally advanced but cyber-ready and people-powered. 

“Together, we’re building smarter and more secure highways.” 

Keith Price 

Want to prepare your organisation against real-world threats? 

Our cyber simulation spaces are designed to help teams explore risks, improve collaboration, and build resilience, before an incident ever happens. 

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