Cyber-attack on UK train stations

n the afternoon of September 26th, several train and underground stations in the UK suffered a cyber-attack aimed at spreading pro-terrorism messages. Among the stations affected were 10 in London and other key commuter stations (Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street, Leeds, Reading, Glasgow Central and Bristol Temple Meads, among others).

At around 5pm, the first reports of Islamophobic messages were received. Telent, the company subcontracted to manage the stations' Wi-Fi networks, launched an investigation, contacted the British Transport Police (BTP) and cut the public Wi-Fi connection to stop the attack. By midday on September 27th, it was back to normal.

The attack was carried out by an employee of Global Reach (another subcontractor for inter-station telecommunications) who is currently in custody by the BTP. Although the investigation is still ongoing, remote access or data leakage has been ruled out.