Man charged over Network Rail terror message hack
Nineteen railway stations - including London Paddington - were affected by the cyber attack, Network Rail said
- Published
A 36-year-old man has been charged in connection with a cyber attack at UK railway stations which resulted in people who accessed the wi-fi being shown a message about terror attacks.
Public wi-fi services were suspended at 19 railway stations last September after messages about past terror attacks appeared on people's devices.
British Transport Police said it had received various reports of imagery "intended to incite religious hatred".
John Andreas Wik, from Beckenham, was arrested at his home address in September and has been charged with publishing or distributing written material intending to stir up religious hatred.
He will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 11 April.
Network Rail said in September that it acted quickly to suspend public wi-fi services while the suspicious content was investigated.
The public network is run by a third party, Telent, with the internet service provided by Global Reach.
Commuters noticed unusual activity after connecting to the service at stations around the UK.
The affected stations include:
In 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