Staff Bonus was âCrassâ Phishing Simulation
A British train company has been criticized for running a cybersecurity test that made employees think they would receive a bonus for working hard during the pandemic.
West Midlands Trains sent an email purporting to be from the company s managing director, Julian Edwards, out to its approximately 2,500 employees. The missive thanked staff for toiling through 2020 and told them that they would receive a one-off payment as a reward for their efforts.
But what appeared to be a welcome bonus during difficult times was actually a phishing simulation. When workers clicked on a link that appeared to connect to a personal thank you from Edwards, they were greeted with a message stating that the email was a cybersecurity test.
Updated 10/05/2021 20:58 BST
A Train Company Told 2,500 Staff They Were Getting A Bonus – But It Was Actually A Cybersecurity Test
Unions condemn West Midlands Trains “cynical and shocking stunt”.
PA
A trade union has slammed a train company after it promised employees a bonus in what was actually a cybersecurity test.
A train company has come under fire for emailling 2,500 staff to say they were in line for a bonus – only to reveal later it was actually a cybersecurity test.
West Midlands Trains (WMT) told staff they would receive a financial reward thanks to their “hard work” during the coronavirus pandemic.
West Midlands Trains scams its own staff with email promising a pandemic bonus
West Midlands Trains have their hub at Birmingham New St Station (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
A rail union has called out West Midlands Trains for emailing 2,500 employees with the empty promise of a pandemic bonus as part of a cybersecurity test.
In the email staff were thanked for their efforts under the “huge strain” of the pandemic and that managing director, Julian Edwards, wanted to thank them with a one-off payment in recognition, according to the Guardian.
But staff who clicked on the link in the email were told it was actually just a “phishing simulation test” test by the IT team “to entice you to click the link and used both the promise of thanks and financial reward.”
Rail disruption affecting West Yorkshire and many other parts of the UK will continue into Sunday after services were cancelled due to cracks in some trains. Hitachi 800 trains were pulled from lines on Saturday as a “precautionary measure” after the fault was found in some trains, and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and Great Western Railway (GWR) have advised people not to travel on Sunday. The recently-introduced 800 series of trains have gradually replaced the ageing Class 91s on East Coast Main Line expresses, now operating services between London and Yorkshire stations including Bradford Forster Square, Leeds and York. Some observers on rail forums have questioned how cracks could have developed on a relatively new fleet, while others pointed out that previous trains had suffered faults shortly after introduction, before going on to provide good reliability.
Rail misery to continue for days as cracks in trains causes disruption
Great Western Railway (GWR) and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) have advised people not to travel on Sunday
9 May 2021 • 8:14am
Rail disruption is expected to continue for a second day and into the week ahead after services were cancelled across the country due to cracks in some trains.
Hitachi 800 trains were pulled from lines on Saturday as a precautionary measure after the fault was found in some trains, and Great Western Railway (GWR) and London North Eastern Railway (LNER) have advised people not to travel on Sunday.
Robert Nisbet, regional director at the Rail Delivery Group, told BBC Breakfast: With the inspections completed initially by the end of today, we are still expecting some disruption to carry on for a few days.