TERMINAL
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. 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 being leaked or sold to hostile parties who could use it to attack our infrastructure for political gain or use it as leverage against us.”
Yesterday 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 scale 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
This is serving up intelligence on a plate... it could help in planning a Heathrow attack SECURITY EXPERT AFTER SEEING MASS OF DATA ON 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.
LEAVES
“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. When it was plugged in a mass of information came up. There were at least 174 documents. Some were marked as “confidential” or “restricted” – but could still be read.
Maps lay bare details of the airport’s Royal Suite, used by the Queen, Cabinet members and foreign dignitaries.
And there are photos of X-ray machines and scanning equipment 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 celebrities 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.
“It is not helpful – certainly not best