The Belt was cyber attacked on June 19, 2023, spurring an overhaul of the network that has now progressed to the testing phase. 

Systems are being migrated to the new network of servers that are housed in the Data Center and under Belt control.

“We are easing people onto the new network,” Director of IT Bob Whitlock said. “It’s being stress tested. It will be more secure and robust.” 

In addition to being more secure, the change will give him and his teammates more control over how the network functions and the ability to respond to issues directly, as opposed to waiting for a contractor to respond, which had been the case. Whitlock said this will help IT do its part to keep the yard fluid. 

About half of the new network will be cloud-based, including Belt Apps. But legacy systems, such as the one used by dispatchers, cannot.  

BDO, the company that helped build Belt Apps, is assisting the project.