Train passengers receive Islamophobic messages after cyber attack

Train passengers at some of the country’s biggest rail stations have been hit by a “cyber security incident” which saw them exposed to Islamophobic messages.

Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street and 11 stations in London were affected by the cyber attack on Wednesday.

Passengers trying to log on to public wifi at the Network Railway-managed stations were targeted with the Islamophobic message.

The message sent out in place of the wifi login page, which has been seen by Sky News, contained a passage referring to a UK terror attack.

Network Rail has suspended wifi services at stations across the country following the incident.

The only Network Rail-managed station not affected was London’s St Pancras.

A Network Rail spokesperson, said: “Last night the public wifi at 19 of Network Rail’s managed stations was subjected to a cyber security incident and was quickly taken off-line.

“The incident is subject to a full investigation. The wifi is provided by a third party, is self-contained and is a simple ‘click & connect’ service that doesn’t collect any personal data.

“Once our final security checks have been completed, we anticipate the service will be restored by the weekend.”

A British Transport police spokesperson said: “We received reports at around 5.03pm yesterday (Wednesday) of a cyber attack displaying Islamophobic messaging on some Network Rail Wi-Fi services.

“We are working alongside Network Rail to investigate the incident at pace.”