A British citizen, John Wik, hijacked free public WiFi networks at train stations across the UK, displaying offensive Islamophobic messages. This caused significant distress and fear among commuters, with some believing an attack was imminent. No personal user data was compromised. The incident gained attention for its similarity to fictional cyberattacks in the BBC’s 'Nightsleeper' series.
Source: https://hackread.com/man-suspended-sentence-hate-uk-train-stations-wifi-hack/
TPRM report: https://scoringcyber.rankiteo.com/company/global-reach-technology-limited
"id": "glo615071425",
"linkid": "global-reach-technology-limited",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "7/2025",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "2",
"explanation": "Attack limited on finance or reputation"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Transportation',
'location': 'UK',
'name': 'Network Rail',
'type': 'Transportation Authority'},
{'industry': 'Technology',
'name': 'Global Reach Technology',
'type': 'Technology Company'}],
'attack_vector': 'WiFi Hijacking',
'date_detected': '2024-09-25T15:00:00Z',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2024-09-26',
'description': 'A British citizen hijacked free public WiFi networks at train '
'stations across the UK, displaying offensive Islamophobic '
'messages.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': 'No personal user data compromised',
'downtime': 'Temporary suspension of WiFi services',
'systems_affected': 'WiFi networks at multiple train stations'},
'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'WiFi management system'},
'investigation_status': 'Completed',
'motivation': 'Islamophobic propaganda',
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Unauthorized access by an '
'employee'},
'references': [{'source': 'British Transport Police'},
{'source': 'Hackread.com'}],
'response': {'containment_measures': 'Temporary suspension of WiFi services',
'law_enforcement_notified': 'British Transport Police (BTP)'},
'threat_actor': 'John Andreas Wik',
'title': 'Islamophobic WiFi Hack at UK Train Stations',
'type': 'Cyber Attack',
'vulnerability_exploited': 'Unauthorized access to WiFi management system'}