A British man has been sentenced for the hack of Network Rail public Wi-Fi last year which resulted in customers being exposed to Islamophobic messaging.
John Andreas Wik, aged 37, from Greater London, pleaded guilty to publishing or distributing material intended to stir up religious hatred.
He was sentenced on July 9 at Inner London Crown Court to 24 months imprisonment suspended for 24 months.
Wik was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £150 ($203) alongside undertaking 280 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation activity.
Display of Offensive Messaging
At around 15.00 BST on September 25, 2024, users attempting to connect to the free Wi-Fi network at numerous major UK train stations were redirected to a webpage with offensive messaging, including references to past terrorist attacks that had taken place in the UK and abroad. These included the 7/7 attacks in London and the Manchester Arena bombing.
Impacted Network Rail stations included London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street.
The Court heard that some customers who viewed the webpage feared that an attack was about to take place.
The incident was reported to British Transport Police (BTP) from 15.00 on the same day, and an investigation was launched.
Officers arrested Wik the following day at his home address on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988.
A subsequent search of his mobile phone and work laptop revealed bookmarked pages listing terrorist attacks and Islamophobic messages.
Attack Enabled by Insider Access
Wik was able to abuse his access as an IT worker at Global Reach Technology to hack the station Wi-Fi services. The firm manages the free station WiFi for 20 of Network Rail’s biggest and busiest stations as well as Bicester Village shopping center.
Global Reach Technology were quickly alerted to the incident, initially believing that Wik had been hacked by a third party.
However, they discovered that Wik had used his company-issued laptop to modify the landing pages. The company then reported the matter to the police.
DC Adrienne Curzon from the BTP commented: “This was a highly planned and disturbing abuse of power and access that caused distress and genuine fear to some of those who witnessed his hateful messaging.
“Everybody deserves to feel safe when they travel on the railway network, and abuse, intimidation, and violence motivated by hate will never be tolerated.”
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