'Password1' and a forgotten test account land Welsh outfits in hot water
ICO reprimands Ogi Networks and Data Cymru after ransomware breach exposes info of 3,300 people, mostly children
A test account protected by a weak password called "Password1" was used by an intruder to steal personal data from two Welsh organizations in a ransomware attack. The Information Commission's Office (ICO) reprimanded Ogi Networks Limited (ONL) and the Local Government Data Unit – Wales (Data Cymru) for the security failures that allowed the data breach.
The test account, created in 2012, was initially intended to help the intruder test user access before migrating real users to the organizations' services. The password was rated as "very weak" and could be cracked in less than a second. Both ONL and Data Cymru failed to regularly assess their security measures and identify outdated accounts, leaving the door open for the cyber-attack.
The ICO criticized both organizations for not implementing appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect their systems and services.
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