An IT worker who carried out a cyber attack on UK train stations to spread an anti-Islam message has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
John Andreas Wik, 37, hacked the WiFi systems so that members of the public who went online saw messages about the Manchester Arena bombing as well as terror attacks in Paris and Stockholm.
The webpage was headed: “We love you, Europe. The Islamisation of Europe is already happening and it’s getting worse each day.”
The incident last September was initially feared to be the work of unknown hackers, but police then realised it was in fact an inside job. Wik posted the messages using his access as an employee of Global Reach Technology, the firm which manages the web pages for organisations that offer free Wi-Fi.
Ten train stations in London - Euston, Victoria, King’s Cross, London Bridge, Cannon Street, Charing Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Clapham Junction and Waterloo – were affected by the hack on September 25 last year.
Inner London crown court heard stations at Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham New Street, Glasgow Central, Leeds City, Liverpool Lime Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Edinburgh Waverley, Reading and Guildford were also impacted.
Wik pleaded guilty in April to distributing threatening written material intending to stir up religious hatred, and on Wednesday he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
Judge Vanessa Baraitser ordered Wik to pay a £150 victim surcharge, carry out 280 hours of community service, and attend 25 rehab sessions as part of the sentence.
"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”, said DC Adrienne Curzon, from British Transport Police.
“Everybody deserves to feel safe when they travel on the railway network, and abuse, intimidation, and violence motivated by hate will never be tolerated.”
As well as the train station hacks, Wik was also suspected of spreading his hate message to music venues in Germany and Bicester shopping village in the UK – allegations he denied.
Prosecutor Warren Stanier told Wik’s first court hearing that he had hijacked the usual WiFi terms and conditions page with his anti-Islam message.
“He defaced that initial page so it gave members of the public a long message with images which the prosecution say are anti-Islamic”, he said.
The message began with a warning that “below is just a SMALL taste of what’s coming”, followed by details of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 along with images of the 22 people who were killed.
Wik referenced the 7/7 London bomb attacks on the transport network, the London Bridge terror attack by a group of Islamic extremists which left eight people dead, and a 2015 shooting spree in Paris which began at the Bataclan theatre.
Wik’s message highlighted the word “Islamic” several times in bold type, it mention an attack in Stockholm in 2017 where a truck was driven into a crowd, and ended with the words “…and so much more…. In the name of Allah”.
“That message inferred Europe was being taken over by Islam and as a consequence there would be more terrorism on UK soil and in Europe”, said Mr Stanier.
“That message was seen by a significant number of people.”
Wik used his own log-in details to carry out the hack, and police discovered he had talked about the possibility of hijacking the system with a colleague.
“Europe is slowly getting Islamized, I genuinely think so”, he wrote, in messages sent in March. “It creeps up on us. It’s even worse in North Europe where I’m from but you see it here as well. Even more clear after 7 October. They HATE the west.”
Days before the cyber attack, he suggested the “political damage you could do” with access to the system, adding: “Imagine spreading to every person on Network Rail, in whatever world conflict. Hopefully nobody does that, but it shows the importance to limit access.”
Wik, of Limes Road in Beckenham, revealed he has an alcohol abuse problem, and says he was drinking heavily on the day of the hack.
