Weak passwords led to a police investigation

A couple’s lives were unexpectedly turned upside down by a security weakness they had no idea they could fall victim to. The BBC reported on the devastating consequences for their personal and professional lives. It also affected the organisations they work for.

For three months the police investigated them and confiscated their personal and work computers, laptops and mobiles as it was wrongly believed they had uploaded illegal images of abuse. The most likely cause of them being falsely accused was that their home router, which had not had its default password changed, had been hacked and used, unknown to them.

We tend to think cyber crime will not happen to us or reduce it to a risk management exercise. But it is as well to bear in mind its connection to horrible crimes and the devastation it can cause. Taking timely action can protect yourself and others. Here is the BBC report and our previous Byte-size Bulletin on Which?’s report on checking home routers including a link to Which?'s guidance.

Photo by King’s Church International on Unsplash.