Birmingham New Street station Wi-Fi hacked, along with 18 other railway stations in cyber-security incident
Wi-fi hacked at Birmingham New Street and 18 other railway stations
The public Wi-Fi at Birmingham New Street station was among those affected by a recent cyber-security incident.
Network Rail confirmed that the Wi-Fi systems at several major UK railway stations, including Birmingham New Street, were hacked to display messages about terror attacks in Europe.
Passengers attempting to log on to the Wi-Fi on Wednesday were met with alarming screens. Network Rail has since suspended the service and is working with British Transport Police and third-party provider Telent to investigate the breach.
A Network Rail spokesperson confirmed the wi-fi was still down and said: "We are currently dealing with a cyber-security incident affecting the public wi-fi at Network Rail’s managed stations."
The incident has also impacted other stations across the UK, highlighting broader security concerns.
The affected stations include:
- In London, London Cannon Street, London Bridge, Charing Cross, Clapham Junction, Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Victoria and Waterloo
- In the South East, Reading and Guildford
- In the North West, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street
- In the West Midlands, Birmingham New Street
- In West Yorkshire, Leeds
- In the West and South West, Bristol Temple Meads
- In Scotland, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central
British Transport Police was investigating, Network Rail said.
The rail provider said it believed other organisations, not just railway stations, had also been affected.
"This service is provided via a third party and has been suspended while an investigation is under way," the spokesperson said.
Telent, the third party which provides the wi-fi for Network Rail, confirmed it was aware of the "security incident" and was "investigating with Network Rail and other stakeholders".
A spokesperson said: "We have been informed there is an ongoing investigation by the British Transport Police into this incident, so it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage."