Mirfield estate agents believe passerby exploited fault to upload pornography into digital board

Bosses at Whitegates Estate and Letting Agents in Mirfield thought their software had been hacked when indecent images appeared last week.

The firm uses a display screen to show featured properties to customers passing by, which can generally only be operated by systems at the back of the store.

Staff were shocked to be told the digital screen was displaying pornographic images on Thursday evening (11 Feb).

The screen was shut down and boarded up while the business investigated the system.

Staff discovered when the digital display restarts after a power failure, the screen loads up on Google for a short amount of time and can be operated from the front.

A spokesman said bosses concluded an "opportunistic " passerby had loaded "indecent images and videos" onto the board using the touchscreen.

In a statement, the firm said: "After spending the last few days looking at the systems in the back we have not found any hacking evidence or breaches in the rear systems.

"We took the decision of plugging in the monitor to find that after a power failure and re-start, the screen defaults to a "Google" search page for a short time whilst rebooting, where the touchscreen can be operated from the front.

"Therefore, we believe an opportunistic individual who was passing searched for the image to leave on screen.

"Whilst far from acceptable, we are happy the rear was not compromised and entry was via the front. "

The firm said the digital display board would remain off until it could be sure a similar incident could not happen again.