Terror threat as unencrypted Heathrow Airport security files found dumped in the street

From the holy-shit-this-is-bad dept.

Dan Warburton reports that a man found a USB stick in the street and plugged it in to a library computer (well, ok, we can discuss that later), but what he found was breath-taking, and not in a good way: 174 documents with 2.5 GB of data that included:

• 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.

Read more on The Mirror.

So… who done it? Why? Is this the only copy of these files in the wild?

This is a very worrying situation for the U.K.

So far, I’m not finding any statement in media coverage as to metadata – when were these files copied on to the USB stick – and would all these files have been on the same system? There are lots of questions needing answers.