Locks and Security News: your weekly locks and security industry newsletter
17th April 2024 Issue no. 701

Your industry news - first

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USB stick found in West London contained Heathrow security data

By Gareth Corfield

Encryption? Passwords? Nah, why use those... Detailed security arrangements for London Heathrow airport, including the Queen's precise route every time she passes through, were found on a USB stick left in a West London street, according to reports.

The unencrypted USB stick was found lying under leaves on Ilbert Street, a leafy terrace near the famous Kensal Green cemetery - reportedly by an unemployed jobseeker on his way to a library.

Having plugged the stick into a computer, the man found a treasure trove of what appeared to be security-related documents, including routes and timings of security patrols, types of ID needed to access restricted areas, maps of CCTV cameras and otherwise hidden access shafts onto the Heathrow Express railway line that runs under the airport. No passwords had been applied to the stick or any of its contents.

1st November 2017