Posted on 10/29/2017 5:30:56 AM PDT by mairdie
Heathrow chiefs are reeling after a memory stick crammed with confidential information was found in the street – posing “a risk to national security”.
Britain’s biggest airport launched a “very, very urgent” investigation after the Sunday Mirror alerted them to the frightening security lapse.
The USB stick – containing 76 folders with maps, videos and documents – was not encrypted and did not require a password.
The man who found it plugged it into a library computer and was alarmed at what he saw. It revealed:
The exact route the Queen takes when using the airport and security measures used to protect her.
Files disclosing every type of ID needed – even those used by covert cops – to access restricted areas.
A timetable of patrols that was used to guard the site against suicide bombers and terror attacks.
Maps pinpointing CCTV cameras and a network of tunnels and escape shafts linked to the Heathrow Express.
Routes and safeguards for Cabinet ministers and foreign dignitaries.
Details of the ultrasound radar system used to scan runways and the perimeter fence.
The scare comes just weeks after Britain’s terror threat stood at critical following the Parsons Green Tube bomb bid. It is still at severe.
The USB stick was found by a member of the public and handed to the Sunday Mirror.
A security source said: “In the wrong hands this would represent a profound threat in terms of terrorism or espionage.
"Aviation security is under the microscope because of the desire by terrorists to bring planes down in a spectacular fashion. Security services would not want this leaked or sold to hostile parties.”
(Excerpt) Read more at mirror.co.uk ...
Inside job.
‘Error threat’ indeed!
No encryption?!
Along with that, the headline saying files dumped in the street conjures up a far different picture than a thumb drive laying on the ground.
I'd say that someone may have stripped it of those elements.
Definitely inside job.
Incomplete FTA:
Met Police detectives were liaising with airport chiefs to work out how the USB drive, with a massive 2.5GB of data, ended up in the street.
Airport insiders revealed they were trying to determine if there had been an “incompetent data breach” or if someone had been accessing files intentionally.
Police fear it may have been copied and circulated on the “dark web” – where terrorists and criminals buy information.
The level of detail could have taken years to compile and involve a number of different systems.
A police source said: “The fear is that this information could have been downloaded and disseminated God knows where.
“The worry is it ends up on the dark web and used by bad guys to pick holes in airport security.”
A former counter-terrorism chief who specialises in airport security told the Sunday Mirror: “There are serious questions to be answered.
“Why was this sensitive material held on an unencrypted memory stick and taken off site? It’s a huge security breach and massively embarrassing for those in charge of security.
“Knowing certain aspects of this information may make it easier for potential attackers to avoid detection.
“And the cumulative impact of having so many documents, videos, maps and images all in one place represents a security risk.”
The Sunday Mirror was contacted by an unemployed man who found the stick while on his way to the library to search the internet for work.
He spotted the memory stick among leaves on the pavement in Ilbert Street, in Queen’s Park, West London.
He said: “I was curious about what it contained so a few days later, when I went back to the library, I plugged it into the computer. All these files were there. I couldn’t believe it.”
There were at least 174 documents. Some were marked as “confidential” or “restricted” – but could still be read.
Maps laid bare details of the airport’s Royal Suite, used by the Queen, Cabinet members and foreign dignitaries.
And there were photos of x-ray machines and scanners used by Her Majesty.
The Royal Suite – which costs £2,800 to hire for a single flight – is hidden from view in Terminal 5 and guests are driven directly to it.
But the memory stick holds images of the route leading up to the suite and satellite images with the location of nearby checkpoints.
Details of screening processes in Windsor Suite – used by stars including singer Cheryl Tweedy – were also revealed.
Other files listed those “exempt from screening”, details of drivers ferrying VIP guests to the suite and radio codes in the case of an “aircraft hijacking”.
Other maps showed where maintenance tunnels and escape shafts link the airport to the Heathrow Express train line.
Satellite images and operating manuals for the Doppler radar surveillance system were also stored.
An expert who helped us examine the memory stick said the information may help facilitate an attack if it fell in the wrong hands.
He said: “Knowing this information would cut down on surveillance and could potentially make access easier.
“Security chiefs will be working hard to ensure there is no physical threat as a result of this breach and changing processes if necessary.
>>‘Error threat’ indeed!
Blushing! Good catch. Wish I could fix.
Thats one way to contain the damage. Give the secret data to the media. *rolls eyes
Do be careful with your eyes. Like the horror stories told children, you could end up looking like Her=>
It looks like a khan-doo project.
London is moozlum-loving town. How many moozlum employee are there in “security”?
Yes indeed. UK is crawling with Muslim vermin, and not a one is loyal to the Crown. Despite any superficial pretense and signifying, a Muslim's loyalty is always to their Moon God. They would stab their best non-Muslim friend in the back in a heartbeat, and kill hundreds in the blink of an eye.
I would think that political correctness says don’t look at them too closely.
“Inside job.”
Apparently, the ISIS pickup person didn’t make it to the drop-off point in time. A stranger found it instead.
England is lost.
It is more likely that it was lost by someone, rather than “dumped”
But they are certainly right to be concerned.
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