Wi-Fi offline: Many UK major railway stations go offline following cyberattack — here's what we know

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Railway stations across the UK have been hit by a cyberattack that has taken Wi-Fi networks offline.

Nineteen stations were confirmed to be affected by Network Rail, including major interchanges such as London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.

Users reported being confronted with a screen showing terror attacks in Europe when logging on to station Wi-Fi networks, but so far, no other issues have been detected.

Station Wi-Fi down

"We are currently dealing with a cyber security incident affecting the public Wi-Fi at Network Rail’s managed stations," a Network Rail spokesperson told the BBC, confirming networks were still down.

"This service is provided via a third party and has been suspended while an investigation is under way," they added, noting a British Transport Police were looking into the incident.

The third party is Telent, an internet services provider, which also said it was aware of what is called a "security incident", noting it was "investigating with Network Rail and other stakeholders".

"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," a Telent spokesperson said.

The affected stations so far include:

  • London Cannon Street
  • London Bridge
  • London Charing Cross
  • London Euston
  • London King’s Cross
  • London Liverpool Street
  • London Paddington
  • London Victoria
  • London Waterloo
  • Clapham Junction
  • Reading
  • Guildford
  • Manchester Piccadilly
  • Liverpool Lime Street
  • Birmingham New Street
  • Leeds
  • Bristol Temple Meads
  • Reading and Guildford
  • Edinburgh Waverley
  • Glasgow Central

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Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.